<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Sick of Losing Soulmates by goblinlord</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24639625">Sick of Losing Soulmates</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/goblinlord/pseuds/goblinlord'>goblinlord</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Alternate Universe - College/University, Eventual Smut, F/F, Slow Burn, Strong Language Warning, Useless Lesbians, mentions of alcohol and possible alcoholism, the college and bar settings are very background not the main focus, the girls have to work through their own personal issues</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 01:53:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>19,207</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24639625</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/goblinlord/pseuds/goblinlord</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Adora is a stickler for rules. When she turns old enough to drink, her friends take her out to a bar to celebrate. A wrench is thrown into Adora's structured life when she meets Catra, the mysterious yet scrappy bartender who manages to catch her eye.</p><p>Catra is a breaker of rules. While she tries to maintain an uncaring and suave persona, Adora makes her facade crumble. When confronted by her own personal strifes, can she overcome them to forge a possible relationship?</p><p>College + Bartending AU.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora &amp; Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Background: - Relationship, Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>111</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>799</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Big Twenty-One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi! I don't read a lot of fanfic, but I know these types of AUs are rather popular, so any similarities to existing fics are both coincidental and unintentional. Please enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     “Today’s the day, Adora. The day you finally become a normal college student,” Glimmer declared, voice full of bravado. She and Bow were beaming at their best friend, who raised an eyebrow in confusion.</p>
<p>     “Normal? I’m as normal as they come,” Adora snorted as she took a seat at the school café table they met at every day, “What are you guys talking about?”</p>
<p>     “You’ve been, ironically enough, the straight one of this group since we all met three years ago,” Bow answered, “We’re going to celebrate your twenty-first the only way it should be celebrated-“</p>
<p>     “A full blown party!” Glimmer interjected, clapping her hands with glee.</p>
<p>     Adora wasn’t sure how to feel. On the one hand, she was always game to hang out with her friends, especially on a day as significant as her birthday. On the other hand, the prospect of drinking with them was daunting new territory.</p>
<p>     She had gone to a few college parties with them before, but staunchly insisted on being the token sober one every single time. It’s not like she was all high and mighty- she just wasn’t too gung-ho about jeopardizing her scholarships in any way. As it stood, she already had to work her ass off to keep her grades up. A misdemeanor surely wouldn't have helped matters.</p>
<p>      “We’re not going to make you drink or anything,” Bow quickly said after having noticed Adora’s less than enthused expression, “but <em>if</em> you do, just know all of your friends will be there to watch and take care of you.”</p>
<p>     “Plus, drinks are on us, of course,” Glimmer chimed in.</p>
<p>     “You know what?” Adora said after taking a moment to strengthen her resolve, “Count me in. This’ll be fun. But who’s hosting? Pretty sure our landlord won’t be thrilled with a bunch of young adults getting plastered at either of our apartments.”</p>
<p>     “Long story,” Bow took a deep breath before launching into his explanation, “I asked Sea Hawk to ask Mermista if she knew any good venues, and Perfuma was in the same room as Mermista and heard, so she said that the girl she’s ‘talking to’ is roommates with a girl who works at a local bar downtown and could ask the owner if we could have permission to rent it out for a night.”</p>
<p>     “That sounds… complicated. But I admire the dedication,” Adora blinked as she processed the information, “Since when is Perfuma ‘talking to’ someone, by the way? How am I just now hearing about this!”</p>
<p>     “We’ll have to interrogate her tonight,” Glimmer squinted her eyes deviously, “Or, better yet, spy on them! Mermista would love to help us carry out an espionage mission.”<br/>Adora laughed and playfully punched her best friend’s arm. They were roommates by chance their freshmen year, and had become fast friends. Bow was coincidentally a childhood friend of Glimmer’s, and they reconnected when they found out they not only went to the same university, but also shared a freshman English class together. Dubbed the ‘Best Friend Squad’ by Bow, the three were inseparable ever since.</p>
<p>     “Who else is gonna be there?” Adora asked, cutting into the chicken she got for lunch.</p>
<p>     “Oh you know, Mermista, Sea Hawk, Perfuma and all them. Your other friends from study groups and soccer... Everyone you know who’s old enough to come, basically,” Bow listed off.</p>
<p>     “Adora!” Glimmer’s eyes were practically sparkling, “you <em>have</em> to let me help you get ready.”</p>
<p>     “Ready? It’s a bar, not high school prom,” Adora wrinkled her nose. She wasn’t a fan of getting all dolled up if it wasn’t necessary. “Also, it’s January. I’m wearing comfortable clothes."</p>
<p>     “Fiiine,” Glimmer sighed dramatically, “what about makeup? Just a<em> little</em> bit?”</p>
<p>     “We’ll discuss it when we get back to our apartment,” Adora rolled her eyes, knowing Glimmer’s stubbornness would guarantee that she at least went out with some lip gloss.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p><br/>     As Adora expected, Glimmer fought valiantly and managed to throw some mascara and tinted chapstick on her before they left at eight. Bow, Adora, and Glimmer took a taxi to the bar all together. They lived off-campus and downtown wasn’t too far from their complex. In no time, the taxi pulled up in front of a brick building on the corner of main street.</p>
<p>     A neon sign jutted out, blinking “Prime Pub &amp; Karaoke” in red neon. It didn’t look like much from the outside, but Adora could hear laughter and music coming from within. She trusted Perfuma to not lead her into a death trap- and if something met Mermista’s standards for approval, it was sure to be a good time.</p>
<p>     “You ready?” Bow asked Adora, placing a hand on her shoulder.</p>
<p>     “Hell yeah. Also, it’s freezing out here, so please let’s go inside,” Adora said, shooting both of her friends a grin as they opened the doors to enter.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Party Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Drunk Adora. Need I say more?</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>      As soon as Adora entered, she was met with an array of familiar faces calling out variations of “Happy birthday” to her. Adora was thrilled to be surrounded by all the people she cared about, some of whom appeared to already be a couple drinks deep.</p><p>      She looked around to get a view of the venue- it was a small bar, but cozy and currently bustling with college students. The music wasn’t overwhelming and the lighting wasn’t dizzying- her friends had chosen well.</p><p>     “Hey, birthday girl!” Perfuma came out of nowhere, enveloping Adora in a surprisingly strong embrace. Adora choked out a greeting, her olfactory senses overwhelmed by the scent of wheatgrass and roses as the other girl squeezed her.</p><p>     “Hi! Thanks for helping set this up,” Adora hugged her back.</p><p>     “All thanks to Scorpia! Oh, you have to meet her, lemme go track her down,” Perfuma said, floating off into the crowd. Adora wasn’t left alone for long though-</p><p>     “Well if it isn’t Adora, the lady of the hour! I think the birthday girl deserves a song in her honor,” Sea Hawk, Bow’s roommate, shouted above the music, “Oh~”</p><p>     “Okay, no,” Mermista stepped in front of him, putting her hand over his mouth, “I refuse to let you get us banned from another bar. Happy birthday, Adora.”</p><p>     Adora laughed at the two’s antics- even though they weren’t technically “together”, they acted like a married couple nonetheless. She knew under Mermista’s aloof facade, she loved Sea Hawk with all her heart. In fact, as she looked around the room at the sea of her close friends and peers, she was hard pressed to find others who <em>weren’t</em> in some kind of relationship.</p><p>     Bow had his arm casually around Glimmer as they talked to seniors Spinny and Netossa who, despite their youth, were already engaged. Sea Hawk was staring heart eyes at Mermista as she flagged down one of the waiters to request some drinks. Even Perfuma was at the couches, talking to a tall, buff-looking girl with a killer undercut, who Adora presumed must have been Scorpia.</p><p>     She had spent so much time focusing on her grades and training and soccer- had she let her prime years of relationship shenanigans up and pass her by?</p><p>     “I’m gonna, uh, head to the bar,” she excused herself from Mermista and Sea Hawk’s company, maneuvering around friendly faces until she found a stool at the counter to sit upon.</p><p>     There was a girl with warm brown skin and locs tied into a bun behind the counter. Adora watched as she prepared some drinks, her hands a blur of different bottles and liquids sloshing into glasses before they were slid over the counter to their patrons. It was mesmerizing.</p><p>     Suddenly, a new person entered the bar area from a closed door leading to, what Adora assumed, was a storage room. She had thick brown hair tied back into a ponytail, though her mane poked out in a messily endearing way. Her uniform was the same simple one as the other staff here- black button up shirt with a red tie- however, hers was untied, hanging lazily over her shoulders. She wore her unprofessionalism well, Adora noted, as the other girl strolled over to the taller one with braids.</p><p>     “Hey Lonnie, why don’t you and Kyle cover the grounds, I’ll take over here,” she said, vocal fry coloring her voice.</p><p>     “Sure thing, Catra,” the other girl, Lonnie, replied before throwing the towel she had over shoulder on her workspace, and exiting to make her way through the thick of the party.</p><p>     “What can I get for you, princess?”</p><p>     Adora snapped to attention- she had been busy watching Lonnie work the floor and hadn’t noticed that the bartender now had her focus on Adora. She stared at the girl leaning over the counter, and was met with a cheeky smile and eyes that almost seemed to glow in the dim, constantly changing lighting. With a start, Adora noticed they were different colors- one a bluish green, the other yellow. When one of the bar tender’s eyebrows quirked in expectation, Adora realized that she should probably offer a response to the question.</p><p>     “Oh, uh-“ Adora blinked, realizing she had no idea what to ask for, “I’m- I’m sort of new to <em>this</em>,” she said making a vague gesture to the space around Catra.</p><p>     “Ah, right. You’re the birthday girl. Adora, is it?”</p><p>     Adora only nodded- something about this girl caught her off guard. The way she carried herself, maybe? Or maybe it was just her strangely colored eyes- disarming and intense as they stared right into Adora’s own.</p><p>     “In that case,” she tossed the towel Lonnie had left behind over her shoulder, “I got something I think you’ll really like.”</p><p>     She poured something into a shot glass and slid it over with a wink that Adora couldn’t help but blush at. She looked at the drink and then up at Catra before taking the small glass in her hands.</p><p>     She had seen her friends take shots before- how hard could it be? With a fluid motion, she confidently brought the drink up to her lips, and tilted her head back. The disgusting taste paired with the feeling of her throat burning as she swallowed hit her a brief moment after.</p><p>     “Bluh!” Adora cringed, followed by a cough so hard she thought she might start gagging. When she got a hold of her surroundings, her ears were met with the sound of Catra’s squeaky laugh.</p><p>     “Sorry, I had to,” Catra cackled, sliding over what looked like some orange juice to help Adora chase away the taste.</p><p>     “What was that?! It was <em>awful</em>,” Adora wrinkled her nose before downing the juice. Her chest felt warm as she set the cup down.</p><p>     “Straight vodka. Not recommended for the uninitiated,” Catra leaned against the counter, “so of course, I had to see what would happen. You really went for it, too.”</p><p>     It was embarrassing at first, but in hindsight, it was a trick well-played. Adora let a laugh escape her when she saw Catra’s shit-eating grin.</p><p>     “I feel… betrayed? Is it possible to feel betrayed by someone you don’t even know?” Adore said, leading to Catra letting out another one of her squeaky laughs while taking back the glasses. </p><p>     “Adora!” A voice startled the blonde as she felt two pairs of hands clamp down on either of her shoulders.</p><p>     “You had your first drink without us?” Bow’s voice cracked in performative horror.</p><p>     “Betrayed. I’m betrayed,” Glimmer said, taking a seat in the stool next to Adora.</p><p>     “Yeah, there seems to be a lot of that going around tonight,” Adora laughed, shooting a glance at Catra, who, to her surprise, still had her attention on the blonde.</p><p>     “Miss, uh… Catra?” Bow leaned in to peer at Catra’s name tag before also taking a seat, “may we have three mojitos?”</p><p>     “Comin’ right up,” she said stepping back from her casual lean before assuming position at her workspace.</p><p>     If Adora thought Lonnie’s handiwork was something to behold, Catra’s finesse surpassed that of her coworker in spades. It wasn’t a fancy, over-the-top drink, but Catra managed to make even the simplest movements carry a level of unexpected grace. In no time, the drinks were set in front of the Best Friend Squad. Catra had to attend to another patron, and so Adora’s reaction to the taste was only seen by Glimmer and Bow.</p><p>     “Whaddya think?” Glimmer asked, a glow already beginning to manifest on her cheeks.</p><p>     “Better than the vodka, that’s for sure,” Adora laughed, stirring her drink absentmindedly. She needed to take it slow- even after only one shot, the world was already beginning to feel a bit fuzzier.</p><p>     “Vodka? That Catra girl gave you vodka for your first drink?” Bow gaped.</p><p>     “Now I’m even more devastated we missed it,” Glimmer groaned, before perking up, “Oh! You have to meet Perfuma’s <em>friend</em> still!”</p><p>     “Oh, right-“ Adora let herself be tugged away from the bar by her friends. Before she got too far, however, she called out: “Catra! The drink was really good!”</p><p>     The brunette looked up from the glass she was pouring a whiskey shot into and threw another one of her flirtatious winks Adora’s way. Adora felt her cheeks light up, but luckily the crowd obscured her before Catra could see.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>     “Aw, shit!” Catra cursed when she noticed the glass had overfilled.</p><p>     “Nice one,” Lonnie said as she came to the bar to make some orders she had taken.</p><p>     “Oh, shut it.”</p><p>     “You gonna keep havin’ heart eyes for blondie or are you gonna help me with these orders?”</p><p>     “Heart eyes? I do <em>not</em> have heart eyes.”</p><p>     “Fine. Bedroom eyes, then.”</p><p>     “Lonnie!” Catra shoved the other girl, “I can get you fired, you know? I have that power.”</p><p>     “Oh please, this place is so understaffed. Plus, Kyle is busy clinging to Rogelio, the two barely get anything done. You need me.”</p><p>     “I <em>need</em> you to start on the long island iced tea while I make the margaritas,” was all Catra said before getting back to work. Despite herself, she found her gaze wandering out over the sea of college students, searching for that blonde ponytail and red jacket.</p><p>     When Lonnie loaded the drinks on her tray, the crowd parted for a moment and Catra caught a glimpse of Adora on the couch across from Scorpia and Perfuma.</p><p>     The sight of her roommate talking to the pretty girl Catra had just met made her feel some type of way. What if Adora started hanging with them more? And then, by extension, she started coming over to Scorpia and Catra’s apartment?</p><p>     Some patrons asking for recommendations snapped her out of it. After taking a few more orders and while cleaning up a spill a customer had on the counter, Catra looked up again to see what Adora was up to.</p><p>     She spotted her, dancing circles with a mustached gentleman around a moody looking girl. Adora had shed her red jacket, revealing a white turtleneck that showed off the definition of her arm muscles. Her ponytail had loosened, blonde slivers of hair escaping and sticking to her face.</p><p>     Catra scrubbed the counter a little harder.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Part part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yes, yes the typos are intentional. At least, the ones that are intentional are... There are probably some unintentional ones too. Pobody's Nerfect.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     Adora, after one shot of vodka, one full mojito, various tastings of her close friends’ drinks, and another shot that Netossa had dared her to do, was well drunk. The world spun around her and there was a permanent smile on her face as she and Sea Hawk goofed around much to Mermista’s chagrin. He was singing some sort of variation of “Drunken Sailor”, but was slurring the words so badly that Adora gave up on trying to make sense of them.</p>
<p>     Perfuma and Scorpia were laughing while watching everything go down. While her looks were a bit intimidating at first, it took less than two seconds into their conversation for Adora to discern that Scorpia was, quite possibly, the sweetest person she had ever met. She and Perfuma were adorable together- and after Adora learned that Scorpia shared an apartment with Catra, it made her want the two’s budding relationship to work out even more. If Scorpia started rolling with her crew, maybe Catra would be open to hang out too? The idea made Adora a bit giddy.</p>
<p>     “If I ever need to blackmail you, just know this video will be the first to be posted,” Netossa joked. When she noticed the older girl taking a snapchat of her and Sea Hawk’s impromptu shanty jam, Adora laughed and made a wild move to grab the phone.</p>
<p>     Depth perception failing her, Adora threw her body a bit too far to the left past Netossa, and stumbled. Just as she accepted her imminent wipe out, someone’s hand around her waist kept her from colliding with the floor.</p>
<p>     “Agh, sorry-“ Adora began, but when she regained her footing, she met eyes with Catra. In one hand, she had some empty glasses on a precariously balanced tray. The other hand was still around Adora’s waist, balancing her.</p>
<p>     “Hey, Adora,” she said after a moment, taking her hand away from Adora’s waist so that both hands were returned to the tray.</p>
<p>     “Heyyy Catraa~” Adora tried to mimic Catra’s gravelly tone and giggled at her own attempt. The world was spinning extra hard now, and Adora was struggling not to slur her speech as she pointed at Catra and said to no one in particular, “guys, didyou see that? Catra totsally saved my life.”</p>
<p>     “Okay, princess,” Catra chuckled, “Take it easy on the sauce, yeah?” As she turned away back towards the direction of the bar, however, Adora swore she saw the other girl sporting the faintest of blushes.</p>
<p>     “Adora, you almost ate shit. You wanna sit down for like, I don’t know, a few minutes?” Mermista tugged on Adora’s sleeve.</p>
<p>     “I will in a bit, jeeeeez <em>Momista,</em>” Adora snorted at her own pun, “have to go aks the scorpio something.”</p>
<p>     “The scorpio? What?”</p>
<p>     “Byeee,” Adora meandered over to where Perfuma and Scorpia had been standing, but the two were gone. After squinting around the bustling room, she found Scorpia alone, queueing for the karaoke machine that a scrawny looking boy with mousy blonde hair had just got working.</p>
<p>     “Scorpio! Howz the night treatin’ ya?” Adora said as she leaned on the much taller girl for support.</p>
<p>     “Scorpia’s the name, actually. I’m doing great. Perfuma and I-“</p>
<p>     “So I have a questionn,” Adora cut her off, leaning in conspiratorially, “what’s like.. the deal with Catra?”</p>
<p>     “Ah, wildcat? She’s just the greatest-“</p>
<p>     “Wildcat?! Oh my god, oh my god,” Adora began tearing up, much to Scorpia’s shock.</p>
<p>     “A- Adora? Is everything-“</p>
<p>     “That’s litserally the cutest nickname I’ve ever heard,, and I’ll never be able to top it,” Adora’s voice grew squeakier every second.</p>
<p>     “Are you… crying? Oh no, what have I done,” Scorpia looked horrified and waved down Glimmer and Bow who were at the other end of the bar.</p>
<p>     “Adora? Is she okay?” Bow put his arm on her shoulder, unsure how to proceed.</p>
<p>     “Oh jeez, she’s one of <em>those</em> drunks,” Glimmer said, smoothing down Adora’s now very messy hair.</p>
<p>     “Whatsthat mean?” Adora hiccuped through her sobs which had ramped up in intensity following her friend’s comment.</p>
<p>     “Shh, nothing. You’re perfect and I love you. Let’s go sit down, okay?”</p>
<p>     “I love you too,” Adora rubbed her eyes, smearing the mascara she let Glimmer put on her before they came, “I love all of you guys so much. Even you, Scorpion.”</p>
<p>     “Scorpia-“</p>
<p>     “Scorpia, you’re my best friend~” Adora sang as Glimmer and Bow pulled her to an empty couch seat.</p>
<p>     “I’ll get her some water,” Bow said, before leaving Glimmer to tend to Adora.</p>
<p>     “Who knew you would be such a lightweight with all those muscles?” Glimmer mused, stroking Adora’s hair to help calm her down from her nickname-induced breakdown.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>     “Is she okay?” Lonnie jutted her chin in Adora’s direction. The girl was now hunched over on a couch at the corner of the room, with two of her friends on either side of her. Catra felt a pang of jealousy when she watched the one with pink hair put her arm around Adora, and then cursed herself for feeling jealous in the first place.</p>
<p>     “She’s barely had anything,” Catra squinted, trying to do a mental tally of all the things the girl had drunk.</p>
<p>     “If she pukes, I’m not cleaning it up.”</p>
<p>     “We’ll get Kyle to do it.”</p>
<p>     “Aww, see we are capable on seeing eye to eye on some things.”</p>
<p>     “Wildcat!” a familiar voice boomed, and Catra braced herself for the impending hug. Two strong hands lifted her up and Catra let out a small shriek.</p>
<p>     “Scorpia, no roughhousing while I’m on the clock!”</p>
<p>     “Sorry, kitty, I forgot. Anyway, I wanted to say, I’m not coming back to our apartment tonight.”</p>
<p>     “Oh?” Catra raised a mischievous eyebrow.</p>
<p>     “Yeah, Perfuma’s roommate is going to crash at her uh- boyfriend’s? guy friend’s? apartment, so she invited me over and-“</p>
<p>     “Okay I don’t need all the details, christ,” Catra scrunched her nose, “just don’t wake me up whenever you come home tomorrow. I’m sleeping in.”</p>
<p>     “Sure thing, wildcat! Or wait, maybe I shouldn’t call you that anymore-“ Scorpia brought a pensive hand to her chin in thought.</p>
<p>     “Huh?”</p>
<p>     “That Adora girl, she got upset when I called you that for some reason.”</p>
<p>     “What?” Catra felt her cheeks flush, “Why would she get upset about that?”</p>
<p>     “Beats me. She was asking about you before that, actually.”</p>
<p>     “What?! She-“</p>
<p>     “Catra, a little help here!” Lonnie pointed at a sheet of orders, “you’re working, remember?”</p>
<p>     “Ugh, just- We’ll discuss this later. Have fun with queen of the vegans,” she shoved Scorpia off before hopping over the counter to help Lonnie.</p>
<p>     As she worked, she once again found her thoughts preoccupied by Adora, who was now currently up and dancing again despite her exasperated friends’ trying to get her to take it easy. Her blonde hair was out of its ponytail, falling loosely around her shoulders. She was beautiful.</p>
<p>     Suddenly, Adora caught her gaze. When she saw Catra staring she froze and with a grin, began making her way over to the bar counter.</p>
<p>     “Aw, fuck,” Catra swore, trying to save face by acting like she was very intently looking at spot on the counter which she promptly began scrubbing.</p>
<p>     “Heyy Catra,” Adora said, propping both elbows on the counter. Up close, Catra could see she had mascara rubbed around her eyes and was sweaty from dancing. Even then, she was a sight to behold.</p>
<p>     “Hey, Adora,” Catra said, putting on her suave front, “I’m not giving you anymore alcohol, if that’s what you’re about to ask for.”</p>
<p>     “Pfft,, am I not allowed to juts talk to you?” Adora set her head down on the counter.</p>
<p>     “Talk all you want, princess. My whole job is just listening to people while they’re drunk of their ass.”</p>
<p>     “Iam Not! Drunk off my ass… you’re so mean,” Adora looked up with a pout on her face.</p>
<p>     “Let me get you a glass of water as an apology.”</p>
<p>     “Ohh can I have a napkin too? And do you have like, a pen?”</p>
<p>     “Yes, I do have ‘<em>like, a pen</em>’ gimme a sec,” Catra poured some water, grabbed a few napkins, and fished a pen out of her pocket, sliding all three over to Adora who was twirling a strand of hair around her finger.</p>
<p>     “Thaaanks, Catra. You’re a lifesaver,” Adora clumsily winked before taking a swig of the water and scribbling on the napkin.</p>
<p>     The pink-haired girl and the guy with the crop-top bounded over, much to Catra’s disappointment.</p>
<p>     <em>Can these people leave Adora alone for five minutes?</em> Catra thought while she pretended to busy herself. She had wanted to ask Adora about her conversation with Scorpia, or rather, why Scorpia’s nickname had upset her so badly. Was there a possibility she was <em>jealous</em>?</p>
<p>     “You ready to get outta here? I love you Adora, but you’re looking a little rough,” the pink-haired girl said to Adora.</p>
<p>     “Glimmerrr, you sound like your mom when you talk like that. Tell Angella I say hi,” Adora was still squinting intently at the napkin, “Bow, tell your dads I say hi too. They’re so niiice.”</p>
<p>     “Okay, I will, but let’s get you home first, okay?” Bow replied.</p>
<p>     “Mmmokay,” Adora acquiesced with a groan, letting Bow and Glimmer help her up, “Catra?”</p>
<p>     “Huh?” Catra looked up from what she was doing, hoping it wasn’t obvious that she was eavesdropping.</p>
<p>     “Haff a good night,” Adora smiled crookedly and slid the napkin over before letting her friends escort her away.</p>
<p>     Catra waited for them to leave eyeshot before she snatched up the napkin and gave it a look over. In messy handwriting was “adora:” followed by, what Catra presumed, was her phone number.</p>
<p>     The rest of the night of her job and her midnight walk to her apartment after closing went by in a happy little blur after that.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Of Hangovers and Unsent Texts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     “I am <em>never</em> drinking again,” Adora groaned into the couch pillow. The lights were off and the shades were drawn, but it was somehow still too bright.</p>
<p>     “You say that now,” Glimmer joked, placing some Advil and a glass of water on the coffee table next to the couch.</p>
<p>     “No, I say it forever. I’m taking a vow of abstinence.”</p>
<p>     “Abstinence? You mean temperance?”</p>
<p>     “No, I think abstinence is the right word. Right? Actually, I don’t care,” Adora cringed, “brain hurts too bad.”</p>
<p>     “Aw, take it easy, Adora,” Glimmer brushed a hand through her friend’s hair, “Bow texted that he made pancakes, so I’m gonna go swing over. You want me to grab you some?”</p>
<p>     “I don’t think I could eat anything if I tried right now.”</p>
<p>     “That’s new for you. Be right back,” Glimmer patted Adora’s back and then made her way out the door.</p>
<p>     It was the morning after their night out, and Adora had the vague memory of taking a taxi home with her friends, and gauging by her surroundings, assumed she had passed out on the couch as soon as she was inside. She needed a shower. Badly.</p>
<p>     Bow and Sea Hawk’s apartment was just downstairs, so Glimmer wouldn’t be gone too long. After she willed herself to sit up and take the Advil, Adora figured she should use the time to clean herself up and relocate to her own room.</p>
<p>     First item of business: brushing her teeth. Mint toothpaste had never tasted so bad, but Adora pushed through nonetheless. Next item was to take a shower. Even when she shed her clothes, she still smelled faintly like booze. The cool water was a jarring yet welcome shock to her system.</p>
<p>While washing her hair, Adora’s mind wandered to think about the party. Had she really done pirate jigs with Sea Hawk? She sincerely hoped that was a dream. She remembered meeting Perfuma’s “friend”… was Scorpia her name?</p>
<p>     She also remembered an untied red tie, two-different colored eyes, and a mess of brown hair that seemed to jutt out in every direction. A smirk, a wink, a raspy laugh- she remembered Catra. Adora also vaguely remembered a napkin that she had written her own number on.</p>
<p>     When she got out of the shower and changed into some sweats, she noticed Glimmer had returned from her pancake breakfast at Bow’s and was sitting on one of the stools of their kitchen’s island.</p>
<p>     “Glimmer, did I really give Catra my phone number?”</p>
<p>     “Who?” Glimmer looked up from texting, clearly not recognizing the name.</p>
<p>     “The bartender- the one who made our drinks.”</p>
<p>     “Ohhh, is that what the napkin thing was? Then yes, you did.”</p>
<p>     Adora groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose in embarrassment. She hoped she didn’t come off as creepy or desperate or anything- not to mention, she most definitely was not at her best during most of her encounters with the other girl.</p>
<p>     “Waiiit, don’t tell me you have a crush on her,” Glimmer perked up, suddenly at full attention.</p>
<p>     “No! I don’t even know her,” Adora ran a nervous hand through her wet hair, “also, ‘crush’? What are we, middle schoolers?”</p>
<p>     “I hate to tell you, but you are blushing <em>super</em> hard right now,” Glimmer giggled.</p>
<p>     “I’m going to go back to sleep,” Adora deflected, promptly turning out of the kitchen and making her way into her own bedroom.</p>
<p>     Her room was simplistic, only really decorated with little gifts Glimmer and her other friends had gotten for her over the years, as well as medals and trophies from soccer. She plopped down on the bed, swinging an arm over her eyes to block out the traces of light that inevitably leaked in.</p>
<p>     Adora didn’t really know how to flirt, <em>per se,</em> but her drunk self had seemingly made an attempt. While she was embarrassed at her conduct, she also felt feelings of hope stir inside her. Maybe Catra found dumb, socially-inept jocks endearing? She rolled over to check her phone, quickly turning the brightness down. No new messages, no missed calls- nothing.</p>
<p>     <em>Well, it’s still pretty early</em>, Adora thought to herself before she turned her ringer on and put her phone down. With a sigh she let herself relax and began to drift off to sleep, willing herself to wake up as soon as her phone made any sort of noise.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Message To:</strong> adora</p>
<p>hey adora. this is catra. from the bar lmao <strong>(-&gt;)</strong></p>
<p>      Catra’s thumb hovered over the “send” button. With a sigh she pulled her thumb back and frowned. Who’s to say Adora even remembered flirting with her? The girl was quite drunk towards the end of the party. Plus, the whole point of parties was that you had fun for one night and then, that was that. At least, that’s how Catra treated these types of things.</p>
<p>    She thought about the goofy grin plastered across Adora’s face. Eyes shining, an alcohol-induced flush upon her cheeks-</p>
<p>    She was a sweet girl, Catra thought before she clicked on the unsent message again. She deleted the “lmao” and then paused, furrowing her brow.</p>
<p>     Then again, what made Adora any different from the other girls she met at parties? Catra drummed her fingers against the table as she stared at the screen. A scene of Adora staring into her eyes after Catra helped her not fall kept replaying in her mind.</p>
<p>     <em>No, I can’t</em>, Catra thought, slumping in the chair and exhaling loudly.</p>
<p>     Besides, it was unprofessional. Catra’s boss already wasn’t a huge fan of her- if he got wind of the fact that she was picking up girls while on the clock, her ass would be job-searching again. She knew Scorpia and Entrapta wouldn’t throw her out if she couldn’t pay rent in between jobs, but Catra didn’t want to be a burden.<br/>In a swift motion, she deleted the text completely, and then exited out of the messages app.</p>
<p>     “Goodbye, Adora,” she murmured before turning off her phone, instead focusing her full attention on the breakfast in front of her.</p>
<p>     Catra usually didn’t wake up early enough to justify preparing a breakfast, but for some reason, she felt particularly energized that day. Scorpia had some leftover bacon in the fridge, so Catra heated it up in the microwave. She knew her roommate wouldn’t mind- plus, with her going out with that hippie, there was really no telling how long it would be until Scorpia was converted to being a vegetarian or something like that.</p>
<p>     Any possible morning contemplation was interrupted, however, as Entrapta bustled into the room. She was muttering to herself, something Catra found a tad strange at first but now didn’t even blink an eye at. Entrapta’s eccentricities, odd sleeping habits, and tendency to perform potentially dangerous experiments right in the living room had gotten her evicted from previous housing arrangements. With Scorpia and Catra, however, she seemed to fit right in. She was a grad student at the University of Etheria but also worked as a teacher aide and tutor, which somehow generated enough cash to pay her share of rent.</p>
<p>     “Oh hi, Catra,” Entrapta said, seemingly just noticing her roommate sitting at the table, “I’m headed over to the Uni.”</p>
<p>     “Isn’t it a Saturday?”</p>
<p>     “Research never rests!” Entrapta beamed as she slung her bag over her shoulder and headed out without saying anything else.</p>
<p>     “Okay, bye, I guess,” Catra slouched in the seat. The apartment was too quiet with either of the other inhabitants gone. She switched on the television, just for the sake of generating some noise.</p>
<p>     The first thing that came up was some romantic movie. The two leads were locked in a passionate embrace, rain pouring down over them. Catra quickly switched channels. Commercials. Switch. A reality show where a proposal was currently happening. Switch. A different romantic movie with two other leads kissing.</p>
<p>     “The fuck is going on today?” Catra said, her mood quickly souring. She pressed the off button and went back to eating in silence. Though, the silence didn’t last long.</p>
<p>     The door knob jiggled and the door slowly swung open. A sheepish looking Scorpia was trying very hard to not let it creak, which had the adverse effect of making it creak even more.</p>
<p>      “I’m awake, you don’t have to sneak around,” Catra said dryly.     </p>
<p>     “Ah! Hey, wildcat,” Scorpia threw a winning smile her roommate’s way.</p>
<p>     <em>Someone’s in a good mood,</em> Catra thought to herself before remembering that as far as she knew, it was physically incapable for Scorpia to be in a bad mood.</p>
<p>     “Have fun with miss flower power?” she asked, biting into a piece of bacon.</p>
<p>    “Perfuma. And yes! She’s a great friend.”</p>
<p>     “Friend?”</p>
<p>     “Yeah! She showed me how to make flower crowns with real flowers and we talked about our childhoods and deepest fears and-“</p>
<p>     “Wait, back up, <em>friend?</em> Aren’t you like…ya know?”</p>
<p>     Scorpia’s expression showed no indication that she understood what Catra was implying. Catra sighed and sank deeper into the chair.</p>
<p>     “You guys like each other. Why not just make things official?” Catra continued, suddenly keenly aware of the fact that she had somehow gotten roped into relationship counseling.</p>
<p>     “Oh…” Scorpia blushed, “You know, I just don’t know if she, well, likes me that way-“</p>
<p>     “Are you dumb? Like, actually?” Catra grimaced when she realized how rude that had come out. She was trying to put her days of senselessly ruthless comments behind her. “Sorry. What I <em>mean</em> is, she clearly likes you from an objective standpoint. So you should make good on that before you let a good thing pass you by.”</p>
<p>     “Aw, wildcat,” Scorpia’s eyes softened and she began making her way towards Catra with a clear intent.</p>
<p>     “No! No hugs,” Catra held a piece of bacon out in front of her as if it were a shield.</p>
<p>     “Fine,” Scorpia crossed her arms, defeated. Her attention shifted towards the wrinkled, scribbled-on napkin that was next to Catra’s phone, “What’s this?”<br/>Before Catra could retrieve it, Scorpia’s hand swooped it up.</p>
<p>     “Adora gave you her number? Oh Catra this is great!”</p>
<p>     “Scorpia-“</p>
<p>     “She and Perfuma are close, I wonder if she knows? Oh, think of the possibilities-“</p>
<p>     “Scorpia-“</p>
<p>     “Double dates, big group hang outs-“</p>
<p>     “Scorpia!” Catra yelled, the severity in her tone quickly silencing the other girl, “I’m not- I’m not gonna call her or anything, okay?”</p>
<p>     Scorpia deflated a bit and the two were left in an awkward silence. Catra recognized that the other girl was full of questions, but before she could ask any of them, Catra took the plate of bacon and her phone and briskly retreated back into her room, firmly shutting the door behind her.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A little Entrapta, as a treat. Also, Scorpia is a useless lesbian. Catra is also a useless lesbian- I mean does she not find her own advice even the smallest bit hypocritical? It would appear that this cast is just chock-full of useless lesbians, huh..</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Good Friends and Grey Areas</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     It had been a week, and still nothing. A call from an unknown number led to Adora answering with a bit too much enthusiasm, only to find it was a telemarketer on the other line.</p>
<p>     While she tried to maintain her positivity in front of her friends, Adora couldn’t help but feel bummed out. She minimized those feelings to the best of her ability by putting in extra time and effort in the gym, studying longer after class, trying out new shows on Netflix- <em>anything</em> to get her mind off of Catra.</p>
<p>     But there was one fatal flaw in her performance to show her friends she wasn’t upset at the rejection: Adora was a terrible actress.</p>
<p>     “Adora you look awful,” Glimmer commented as the blonde walked into the apartment.</p>
<p>     “Hello to you too,” Adora said, setting her gym bag down. Her tone was sarcastic, but she understood what Glimmer meant. After a run, she had done some boxing and had pushed herself particularly hard. She was beyond exhausted, both physically and emotionally, and her face must have shown it.</p>
<p>     “Do you want to talk about the whole Catra thing? And before your say that you’re fine, you clearly aren’t.”</p>
<p>     Adora shifted uncomfortably under Glimmer’s gaze before finally sighing and sitting across from her friend.</p>
<p>     “It’s not like, a big deal. I mean,” Adora took a second to figure out what to say, “we don’t know each other. I took a chance and it didn’t pay off, and that’s fine! It’s more… seeing everyone else. Happy and together, you know? I spent so much of my life pushing down romantic feelings because I always told myself that I was too busy for any of that. And now I wonder if it’s too late?”</p>
<p>     “Too late?” Glimmer looked incredulous and put a hand on each of her friend’s shoulders, “Adora, first of all, you’re twenty-one, you’re not a spinster. Second, you’re gorgeous and dorky in the best possible way <em>and</em> the kindest person I know. Third, that Catra girl doesn’t deserve you if she can’t see that.”</p>
<p>     Adora’s eyes were wide as she was barraged with Glimmer’s reality check. Slowly but surely, she began to feel confidence regather within her.</p>
<p>     “Yeah, you know what? You’re right.” Adora said decisively.</p>
<p>     “Of course I am!” Glimmer winked, “and also, if you’re still feeling down there <em>might</em> be a carton of your favorite ice cream in the freezer. Just sayin’.”</p>
<p>     At that, Adora brought Glimmer into a bear hug, grateful to have such a good friend.</p>
<p>     As Adora dug into the carton while Glimmer put on the crime show they had been watching over the past few days before bed, Adora finally felt like she could put the whole thing behind her.</p>
<p>     Besides, who needs an alluring, mysterious, pretty girlfriend when you have friendship, a good education, and ice cream, right?</p>
<p>     <em>…Right?</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>     Working in a bar was like working in a bakery- once you were repeatedly around the stuff you were serving for a significant portion of your day, it tended to lose its appeal. But for Catra, the appeal seemed to have revitalized itself within the past week.</p>
<p>     Catra had fallen into old habits. She had been late to work the last two days, and the amount of effort she put into her shifts was on a steady decline. Lonnie called her out several times, but Catra still couldn’t bring herself to care.</p>
<p>     She plopped down onto her bed with a huff. The shift caused the bottle of Bacardi she had propped next to her pillow to roll into the divot her body made. It clinked right up against her waist, as if it were taunting her.</p>
<p>     <em>Maybe I made a mistake</em>, Catra thought to herself. But what could she do? It had been a week- Adora would surely hate Catra by now and think she was some asshole. Or, the other girl had moved on and forgotten about her outright. Catra wasn’t sure which option was worse to consider.</p>
<p>     Scorpia and Perfuma tended to hang out whenever Scorpia wasn’t working, and Entrapta was putting in even more hours at the University for some incomprehensible reason. The apartment was <em>too</em> quiet and her work <em>too</em> uneventful and her life <em>too</em> stagnant. All of these factors aggregated into a singular epiphany: Catra was lonely. And she hated the feeling.</p>
<p>     It was a feeling she had felt her whole life. Yes, she had friends. But they always seemed to like other people more than her. She was never a priority, she was never first. And then, when she got the opportunity to do something about it- she blew it.</p>
<p>     “I am not having an identity crisis right now,” Catra muttered to herself before sitting up and checking her phone. After a minute of inconsequential scrolling through Instagram, she got an idea.</p>
<p>     Catra opened her contacts, perusing the brief list of names until she found the one she was looking for. The call was answered after a few moments, and before Catra could say anything, a familiar smooth voice came from the speaker:</p>
<p>     “Hey, Kitten. Long time no see.”</p>
<p>     “Hey, just uh, you know. Checking in.”</p>
<p>     “That sounds likely,” Double Trouble’s voice dripped with sarcasm, “You going to tell me the real reason, or are you sticking to the coy bit?”</p>
<p>     “Fine,” Catra rolled her eyes, her nails absentmindedly tapping against the bottle, “I’m bored out of goddamn mind and my roommates are lame. You down to come over?”</p>
<p>     “Darling, I’m always down to come over. That is, if you can make it worth my while.”</p>
<p>     “I’ve been taking shit from work since I started there. There’s <em>quite</em> the assortment to choose from.”</p>
<p>     “I’ll be over in a bit,” Double Trouble hung-up, leaving Catra alone again to kill time until they got to her place.</p>
<p>     Catra was relieved that someone on this planet was free to hang out with, even if said someone’s friendship seemed conditional most of the time. Double lived for drama, and Catra needed someone else to be a part of her pity party.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>     They arrived quicker than Catra assumed they would. She had no idea how far away they lived because, even though they had known each other for a year, she knew close to nothing about their personal life. No knowledge of an address, family, occupation- she didn’t even know if they had other friends. They were an inscrutable person, but hey, everyone needs a little mystery in their life.</p>
<p>     “I can tell you’re dying to dish, but please Kitten, pour me a drink first,” Double winked when Catra opened the door.</p>
<p>     “Help yourself,” Catra replied as she let them in, gesturing to the bottles on top of the fridge.</p>
<p>     “So who’s got you thrown in such a tizzy? The bags under your eyes are <em>not</em> a good look, even with your whole ‘I’m an angsty miscreant’ schtick.”</p>
<p>     Catra was too tired to come up with anything resembling a rejoinder. Instead, she opted to be candid.</p>
<p>     “This girl, Adora. She celebrated her birthday at Prime and… just, something about her. It sounds cheesy but… I can’t remember the last time I felt that way when I saw someone, even though we just met or whatever.”</p>
<p>     “I need a visual of this girl,” Double took an elegant swig from some wine that Catra didn’t even know she had.</p>
<p>     “Uh. Blonde hair. She wore it in a ponytail most of the time. Little hair poof, kinda like yours, but neater. Athletic-“</p>
<p>     “Kitten, this isn’t a police report you’re filing. You said her name was Adora? I bet I could find her Insta,” their long nails were already clacking on the screen of their phone.</p>
<p>     The situation felt a bit… <em>stalkerish?</em> But Catra couldn’t deny that she was curious- if not just for the sole reason of getting another glance at Adora.</p>
<p>     “Found her. Your girl’s popular,” Double Trouble said, looking smug at their quick search.</p>
<p>     “Huh?” Catra craned her neck to get a look. Adora had a good amount of followers- probably due to the fact that she looked very involved with the University of Etheria, judging by her feed. Soccer player, part of leadership programs- the girl had her shit together. Which meant she was much better off without Catra.</p>
<p>     She stared wistfully at a picture of Adora sporting a huge smile with her arms around Bow and Glimmer, who Catra recognized as the two who were around her a lot at the party.</p>
<p>     “Forget it,” Catra frowned, slumping on the couch, “pass me the bottle.”</p>
<p>     “If you want to be self-destructive, don’t let me get in your way,” Double handed her the drink, “but for the record, she’s a real cute girl. If you’re into jocks, I suppose.”</p>
<p>     “Yeah well, whatever,” Catra took a drink, the burning sensation a welcome distraction. Adora’s life looked perfect. Annoyingly so, in fact. Catra knew she would ruin it all somehow if she got involved. Not that she even had a chance, at this point.</p>
<p>     The rest of the night went by in an undistinguished blur. Double let themself out once Catra was properly sauced, having passed out on the couch after drinking herself into a stupor.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     Unbeknownst to her, Scorpia and Perfuma would come back to the apartment soon after. The two were met with the sight of Catra half hanging off of the couch.</p>
<p>     “Your roommate and I have only talked a few times,” Perfuma cautiously said, eyeing the snoring slump, “but I<em> think</em> I’m noticing some tendencies towards self-sabotage.”</p>
<p>     “She isn’t always like this,” Scorpia frowned, “she’s upset about Adora, is all.”</p>
<p>     “Why would she be upset with Adora?” Perfuma put her hands on her hips, “do they even know each other well?”</p>
<p>     “Ah-,” Scorpia blushed, “Damn it, she told me to keep it a secret.”</p>
<p>     “A secret-?“</p>
<p>     “Adora gave Catra her number and Catra didn’t text her even though she likes her and now she’s been acting out and I don’t know what to do,” Scorpia blurted out before Perfuma could even press her on what the secret was.</p>
<p>     “Oh,” Perfuma blinked and furrowed her brow, “that could explain why Adora’s been a bit off recently too. Her aura is normally a bright red but lately, it’s been a bit muddier.”</p>
<p>     “I don’t know what that means-”</p>
<p>     “Adora is sad that Catra didn’t message her and Catra is upset she didn’t message Adora! If we get them to see each other in person, maybe they can talk it out,” Perfuma whispered excitedly to Scorpia.</p>
<p>     “How will we get them together though?”</p>
<p>     “Leave the planning to me,” Pefuma winked, planting a kiss on Scorpia’s cheek, “this will be fun.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yeah, been there too, Catra. Also, matchmaker Scorfuma because, let's be honest, they would. They so, so would.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. An Unceremonious Rendezvous</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     “Girls night? I don’t know Perfuma, it’s a weekday-“</p>
<p>     “Oh come on, it’s been like, <em>forever</em> since just you and I hung out. Plus, you’ve been even more tense than usual; I think you deserve some relaxation,” Perfuma gave Adora a knowing look.</p>
<p>     Adora chewed on her lip. She was on top of her assignments, and her study group wasn’t meeting that evening. She supposed some frivolity couldn’t hurt.</p>
<p>     “Okay, okay. What were you thinking?”</p>
<p>     “Yay!” Perfuma grinned a million-watt smile, “it’s a surprise, though. No spoilers.”</p>
<p>     “A surprise?”</p>
<p>     “I know, I know, you <em>haaate</em> surprises, but trust me on this,” Perfuma took Adora’s hands into her own and looked her right in the eye. Adora tried not to shrink away under her intensely bright gaze.</p>
<p>     “Alright. I trust you.”</p>
<p>     Perfuma looked satisfied at that, and brought Adora into another one of her strong hugs.</p>
<p>     “I gotta get to class, but meet me at my car at three!” she said as she released Adora and practically skipped away in the direction of the agricultural sciences building.</p>
<p>     Adora sighed, not sure what she was getting herself into. An evening spent with just Perfuma was bound to be interesting.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>     “Ugh, why can’t you go on your own? When have you ever needed my help for something like that,” Catra complained.</p>
<p>     “Catra, I know you’re a big softie under that icy exterior of yours. And you’ve been more down than usual lately. I think a quick trip out together would be fun!”</p>
<p>     “Wrong. Never has there been a more incorrect statement,” Catra squinted at the television, avoiding eye contact. Scorpia had been trying to convince the girl to go with her to help pick out a gift for Perfuma for the past five minutes to no avail.</p>
<p>     “Please?”</p>
<p>     “No.”</p>
<p>     “Please?”</p>
<p>     “No.”</p>
<p>     “Pleaaase?”</p>
<p>     “Jesus fuck, <em>fine!</em>” Catra rubbed her forehead, “but it better not last long. I promised to come in early to work today. Pretty sure boss-man is considering firing me if I don’t get my shit together.”</p>
<p>     “Of course, of course. I’ll be your ride and everything,” Scorpia’s eyes were glittering excitedly. Catra wasn’t sure why the other girl was so jazzed about what seemed like a quick shopping trip, but decided not to press.</p>
<p>     “Be ready at three,” Scorpia said as she bounded out of the living room, clumsily texting as she went.</p>
<p>     “That girl is strange,” Catra muttered to herself before resuming her daily routine of reclining on the couch without purpose.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     In terms of surprises, this one certainly didn’t seem monumental. Perfume's tiny, environmentally friendly car brought Adora to an outdoor mall in the newer area of the city. It was filled with pretty statue installations, high-end shops, and cafés. Though most things were very much out of budget, it was still perfectly pleasant to just amble about.</p>
<p>     Adora kept noticing Perfuma checking her phone often, however. For most people, the codependency on their mobile device wouldn’t be anything worth noting, but Perfuma tended to live more in the moment than the average person.</p>
<p>     “Scorpia?” Adora presumed.</p>
<p>     “Hm?” Perfuma looked confused. When Adora gestured to the other girl’s phone, Perfuma replied, “Ohhh! Uh, yes!”</p>
<p>     “Everything okay with you two?”</p>
<p>     “Oh, things are great! She’s a great girlfriend. Just waiting on some news from her, nothing big.”</p>
<p>     “Speaking of, does Scorpia go to the Uni? If so, I don’t think I’ve seen her around.”</p>
<p>     “No, she works full time! She’s an freelance artist.”</p>
<p>     “Damn, that’s really cool. She makes enough for rent and stuff just doing that?”</p>
<p>     “Yeah, her stuff is really well known so she gets a lot of commission requests! Oh, you have to see her work, she’s so talented,” Perfuma gushed. It was adorable seeing how proud she was of her girlfriend. A pang of sadness bounced around in Adora’s chest, though, when she recalled how Scorpia and Catra were roommates. So close, yet so far.</p>
<p>     "You should tell her to come over and we could have a game night at Bow and Hawk’s or something. I’d love to see her again, she was a sweetheart.”</p>
<p>     “Oh, I’m sure we’ll be seeing her soon enough~” Perfuma said, arm linking with Adora’s as if guiding her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>     “So what even are you looking for? This shit is expensive,” Catra remarked, pulling her jacket tighter as the two walked past a fancy looking store and into an open courtyard area. There was a fountain in the center and tables all around. The mall wasn’t very crowded though, likely due to the fact that it was a cold Monday afternoon.</p>
<p>      Scorpia didn’t answer, as she was preoccupied, tapping away at her phone. She had an odd, nervous energy to her ever since they arrived. It made Catra unnerved. Or rather, annoyed.</p>
<p>     “You act like you and Perfuma don’t see each other all the time,” Catra rolled her eyes.</p>
<p>     “Speaking of…” Scorpia said quietly while smiling over Catra’s shoulder.</p>
<p>     “Huh?” Catra groaned before turning to follow Scorpia’s line of sight. Only a brief distance away stood two approaching blondes, one with her lighter curls languidly trailing down her back, and the other sporting a familiar signature ponytail.</p>
<p>     When Catra saw Adora, her eyes widened. She tried to turn around and discretely abscond, but Scorpia’s strong hands caught her and gave her a gentle yet firm push in Adora’s direction.</p>
<p>     Catra had the urge to bolt. But under Adora’s surprised yet somber gaze, she froze. Sure, Catra could come up with excuses or lies to get her out of the uncomfortable situation, but with those blue eyes trained on her, everything except candor was stripped away.</p>
<p>     “Hey, Adora,” Catra said, averting her eyes to the floor. She was sure she looked like a puppy who was ashamed of the mess it made right about then, her embarrassment and guilt combatting the attempt at being coquettish.</p>
<p>     The tension in the air was palpable, and panic began to set in for Catra. Scorpia would have hell to pay later, that much was sure.</p>
<p>     “So you do remember me,” Adora said softly. It wasn’t vitriolic or scornful- just sad. Catra’s regrets came crashing down on her all at once.</p>
<p>     “Yeah. I do,” Catra shifted uneasily. She took a breath, and tried to relax her shoulders which had been hunched up, “want to take a seat? Talk this out?”</p>
<p>     “That would be nice,” Adora said after a moment’s hesitation. Catra watched as she exchanged a glance with Perfuma, and the taller blonde excused herself along with Scorpia to go sit at the other end of the courtyard.</p>
<p>     Catra and Adora sat opposite of each other, next to the fountain. For a while, the relaxing crash of the water was the only sound.</p>
<p>     “So how’s work been?” Adora broke out.</p>
<p>     The question caught Catra off guard- it was so surprisingly <em>mundane</em>. No screaming fit about her being ghosted, no demands for an apology- just simple small talk.</p>
<p>     “Uh, fine, I guess,” Catra answered cautiously, “Getting yelled at by Lonnie more often, but that’s my fault.”</p>
<p>     “Why’s she getting on you?” Adora asked amusedly.</p>
<p>     “I keep screwing shit up,” Catra said, meeting Adora’s eyes, “kind of like how I screwed this up.”</p>
<p>     Adora sighed and held Catra’s gaze, as if searching for words.</p>
<p>     “You didn’t <em>screw</em> anything up. We didn’t exactly meet in the most normal circumstances anyway.”</p>
<p>     “Yeah but I should’ve at least, I don’t know, texted you or something.”</p>
<p>     “It would’ve been nice,” Adora admitted after a moment, “just a ‘hello’? It made me worried that I creeped you out or something like that. Drunk me <em>was</em> flirting pretty hard there at the end of the night.”</p>
<p>     “Balanced out the delicately sprinkled flirting I was laying on you throughout the whole evening.”</p>
<p>     “Ah, so you <em>were</em> flirting,” Adora grinned. Whatever awkward tension there had been at the beginning of the conversation seemed to have dissipated. Instead, a different sort of tension seemed to be manifesting.</p>
<p>     “Duh. A pretty girl walks in to my place of work and I’m <em>not</em> supposed to throw my hat in the ring?” Catra grinned as a blush colored Adora’s cheeks, “But seriously. I’m… sorry.”</p>
<p>     “It’s okay,” Adora smiled reassuringly, “Regardless of how things started, consider your hat officially thrown.”</p>
<p>     “When you phrase it like that, it makes it sound like I’m competing with people for a date with you.”</p>
<p>     “Hey, maybe you are,” Adora shrugged, “You’ve unwittingly walked into my own personal season of The Bachelorette.”</p>
<p>     “Pfft, as if, princess,” Catra smirked.</p>
<p>     She wanted to stay and joke around with the other girl for hours, but if she blew off her work duties, she would be in some deep waters. Catra did <em>not</em> want to face her boss- especially now that things in her life were starting to look up again.</p>
<p>     “I don’t have work on Wednesdays. Bar is closed that day,” Catra bit her lip apprehensively, “Do you maybe want to come over that day to my place for a drink?”</p>
<p>     Adora smiled brightly before what looked like a sudden onset of nausea clouded her face.</p>
<p>     “I don’t think I can <em>ever</em> drink again,” she scrunched her face up before it returned to a grin, “but besides that part, yes. I would love to.”</p>
<p>     Catra tried to contain the unbridled glee she felt in that moment, redirecting the energy into her hands which were now excitedly tapping the edge of her chair.</p>
<p>     “I’ll let you and the hippie get back to your shopping or whatever,” Catra said, scooting out from the table.</p>
<p>     “Do I need to give you my number again?” Adora asked as she began to get up from her seat.</p>
<p>     “No need. I uh, have your contact saved.”</p>
<p>     “You going to actually text this time?” Adora raised her eyebrow playfully.</p>
<p>     “I promise.”</p>
<p>     “Then I’ll see you on Wednesday.”</p>
<p>     “See you then.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i apologize that my writing style is just: *uses italics* *uses italics* *uses italics*</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Rants and Remunerations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     Catra didn’t know how she got so lucky, but Adora had actually <em>agreed</em> to come over. She texted her Wednesdsay afternoon, asking when it was a good time. As Catra looked around at her messy apartment, she told her to come at 4:00 p.m. That would give plenty of time for her to clean as well as make herself look presentable.     </p>
<p>     Scorpia tended to do most of the voluntary cleaning work. But after spending so much time with Perfuma, and due to an influx of commissions, the dishes had begun to stack up.</p>
<p>     Entrapta had a habit of leaving things in odd places, as well as a tendency to leave Red bull cans all over the apartment. She was busy fiddling with one of her experiments in her room, leaving Catra to begrudgingly pick up after all three of them.</p>
<p>     Is this how Scorpia felt, cleaning up after their asses all the time? Catra made a mental note to give her a gift as an act of gratitude. Something that showed she didn’t think<em> too</em> hard about it, of course. She had a reputation of detachedness to uphold, after all.</p>
<p>     The cleaning, though toiling, was a nice distraction from how nervous she was. Things had smoothed over between them after their confrontation, but Catra knew this date could possibly make or break their future as friends… or otherwise.</p>
<p>     Wait a second, <em>date?</em> Is that what this was? The growing pit of anxiety in Catra’s stomach deepened even more.</p>
<p>     Once the place looked decent enough, Catra put some time into her appearance. No matter how much she tried to smooth down her hair, it seemed to stick out in odd places. She sighed and gave up, choosing instead to pace around the apartment until Adora called that she was downstairs and Catra buzzed her up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     When she opened the door, she was greeted by a nervous looking Adora, who was brushing some stray lint off of her sweater.</p>
<p>     “Hey, Adora,” Catra grinned, trying to not let her own nervous energy leak into her voice, “Welcome to the fright zone.”</p>
<p>     “It’s dark in here. You ought to buy some more lamps,” Adora joked, stepping inside.</p>
<p>     “How’d you get here? Perfuma or someone drop you off?”</p>
<p>     “Nah, I just took the bus. There’s a station just down the street from your house.”</p>
<p>     “Ah, I forgot about that old thing. I mostly walk or bum rides off of people if stuff’s too far-“</p>
<p>     “Adora, is that you?” Entrapta was peeking out from her room.</p>
<p>     “Oh!” Adora was taken aback, “Hi, Entrapta!”</p>
<p>     “You two know each other?” Catra’s eyes darted back and forth between the two.</p>
<p>     “Yeah, Entrapta is one of my tutors. Helps me survive my math and science classes.”</p>
<p>     “Huh. Small world,” Catra muttered.</p>
<p>     “Ohhh,” Entrapta’s eyes widened with her signature look of intrepid curiosity, “Catra, is this the girl who you were talking about to Scorpia?”</p>
<p>     “Entrapta!” Catra’s eyes flashed with warning, “don’t you have work to do?”</p>
<p>     “Oh, don’t let me interrupt your date,” Entrapta recoiled back into her room as Catra’s head spun with embarrassment.</p>
<p>     “Anyway,” Catra managed a tense smile, “I promised drinks. Let’s go do that,” <em>and ignore what Entrapta just said</em>, she thought to herself.</p>
<p>     “Sure thing,” Adora chuckled, and Catra guided her over to the kitchen’s island where Catra had set up a practice bar.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     “Virgin?”   </p>
<p>     “What?” Adora blinked, a blush immediately rushing to her cheeks.</p>
<p>     “…the drink? You want no alcohol in it, yeah?” Catra gestured towards the glass she had in her hand, “or did I hallucinate your spiel the other day about not drinking again.”</p>
<p>     “No! I mean, yeah. No alcohol please,” Adora sputtered. </p>
<p>     In no time, the other girl had both drinks made, and the two ended up on the couch.</p>
<p>     Adora was worried about trying to force conversation at first, but making small talk was shockingly easy with the other girl. Even moments of shared silence were comfortable, rather than anxiety-inducing.</p>
<p>     “So you work at the bar full time?” Adora asked after taking a sip.</p>
<p>     “These days, yeah. I’ve lived all over this city and found it hard to keep a job. Or, the job found it hard to keep <em>me</em>. Prime’s was an older place and got taken over by new management, so they rehired a bunch of the staff. Saw an open position, looked up YouTube tutorials on mixology and faked some shit on my resume. If they noticed or cared that I’m not actually qualified, it hasn’t been an issue so far.”</p>
<p>     “You got that good with just YouTube tutorials?”</p>
<p>     “I’m a quick learner,” Catra shrugged, “Plus it meant I got to taste test drinks for fun while I practiced, so that was a big incentive. You play soccer for the Uni?”</p>
<p>     “Yeah, that’s what they gave me a scholarship for. I played a lot of different sports during high school, though. Track and field, wrestling-”</p>
<p>     “Wrestling? You mean the most homoerotic sport <em>ever</em>?”</p>
<p>     “See, just as alcohol tasting was your incentive, the inherent homoeroticism of wrestling was <em>my</em> incentive,” Adora laughed.</p>
<p>     Somehow, the two ended up asking questions back and forth, anything on the table. They started out tame enough- favorite foods, past times, et cetera. But things began to intensify once the basic questions were out of the way.</p>
<p>     “Hmm,” Adora squinted her eyes in thought, “craziest thing you’ve ever done?”</p>
<p>     “Before I say it- are you an undercover cop? You have to legally tell me, otherwise it’s entrapment.”</p>
<p>     “What was that?” Entrapta called out from the other room.</p>
<p>     “No, not- ugh, don’t worry about it,” Catra groaned.</p>
<p>     “I promise, your secrets are safe with me,” Adora crossed her heart. Catra found the gesture charmingly juvenile, yet earnest.</p>
<p>     “Fine. Once, a friend and I jacked a police car, drove it out to the river and pushed it in.”</p>
<p>     “You what?!” Adora was taken aback. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t <em>that</em>.</p>
<p>     “Fuck 12, ya know?” Catra shrugged nonchalantly.</p>
<p>     “I mean, yeah, but how did you not get caught?” Adora remarked incredulously.</p>
<p>     “An anarchist never reveals her secrets,” Catra said with a smug wink, “My turn. Would you date the last person you hooked up with?”</p>
<p>     “Ah,” Adora blushed and averted eye contact, “last person I hooked up with and I actually <em>tried</em> to date for a bit but uh… we’re much better as just friends.”</p>
<p>     “Oh shit. Were they at the party?”</p>
<p>     “I’m not telling you her name-”</p>
<p>     “Is it the pink-haired girl? Named Sparkles or some shit?” Catra asked offhand. Adora’s expression indicated a <em>Bingo</em>, however.</p>
<p>     “We were dorm mates and, look, it just didn’t work and- she and Bow are actually-“</p>
<p>     “Chill, princess, you don’t have to explain yourself to me,” Catra let out a chuckle. Adora got worked up easily- something Catra found incredibly cute. She couldn’t help that she was a smidgen jealous, however.</p>
<p>     “Alright. Your turn for a question,” she changed the subject once Adora had loosened up again.</p>
<p>     “Are you close with your family?” Adora asked. The question clearly struck a nerve with Catra, who visibly shrunk into herself. Adora had a moment of panic and regret, which Catra must have picked up on.</p>
<p>     “No, it’s fine. I’m fine,” she said, bitterness leaking into her voice. She took a tense moment before speaking again, “I don’t know my birth family or anything like that. Was part of the system until I turned eighteen. The lady who ran the home was… difficult. Me and authority figures don’t really work too well together. Everyone always talks down to me even though I <em>guarantee</em> I could run their job much better than them or outrank them in any test. And I sort of just let myself be the person they saw me as. A troublemaker. I did some bad stuff but… whatever. I’m free now. Or at least trying. Trying to figure out who the fuck I want to be.”</p>
<p>     The two were quiet for a bit. Adora didn’t know what to say. From the brief time they knew each other, Adora got the sense that an “i’m sorry” would only come off as hollow. But then again, what can you say to someone who has been dealt a bad deck their entire life?</p>
<p>     No, mere commiserations wouldn’t suffice. What Catra needed, desperately needed, was someone who<em> understood.</em></p>
<p>     “I get what you mean,” Adora reached out a tentative hand and set it over Catra’s. “My mom, she… she always pushed me so hard. Unhealthily so. I always had to be the best, even though sometimes I just <em>couldn’t</em>. I’m not the smartest. But sports was where I could hold my own. So I put all my energy into that in order to chase her validation. And it led to scholarships and stuff and I’m so, <em>so</em> grateful for the opportunities I have but… I’m not sure where to go. What I want to do with my life. I don’t even know what actually interests me. I feel like a fraud, stuck in someone else’s life thats already been written out for them.”</p>
<p>     When Adora met Catra’s eyes again, she saw an expression she hadn’t yet seen on the girl’s countenance: Respect.</p>
<p>     “I had you pegged all wrong, princess,” Catra smiled slightly as she said the nickname, “I thought you had all your shit figured out. Turns out you’re just as messy as me.”</p>
<p>     Adora smiled, though she was holding back tears. She had never really verbalized her case of imposter-syndrome to anyone. Up until very recently, she kept a hermetic seal on her deeper emotions. Sharing them without holding back was new and scary, sure, but also overwhelmingly cathartic.</p>
<p>     “For the record,” Catra’s index finger traced over Adora’s palm, “I don’t think you’re a fraud. I see how much people care about you. And I mean <em>truly</em> care, not just hanging around you to get something out of it. You must be doing something right.”    </p>
<p>     Adora’s chest fluttered as the two sat in silence like that, hand in hand. Besides emotionally, the two had physically grown closer during the conversation. If she wanted, Adora could close the space and-</p>
<p>     “Catra are we ordering delivery for dinner tonight or is Scorpia cooking?” Entrapta burst into the room without warning, causing the two girls to jump in surprise. Catra’s hair practically stood on end as she turned her attention towards the purple-haired girl.</p>
<p>     “Uh, what?” Catra cleared her throat.</p>
<p>     “For dinner? If we’re getting delivery, the place down the street has great dumplings. Adora, are you staying?”</p>
<p>     “Oh, um,” Adora blinked, heart still racing from her proximity to Catra, “actually, I should be getting home, probably.” Adora bit the inside of her cheek. She wanted to stay- why didn’t she?</p>
<p>     “I’ll walk you to the station?” Catra got up with Adora. Perhaps she wanted to be gentlewomanly, sure, but her eyes conveyed a genuine desire to spend more time with Adora.</p>
<p>     “That would be great,” Adora smiled. “Bye, Entrapta.”</p>
<p>     “Bye, Adora!” Entrapta called out as the two girls exited the apartment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     The walk was quiet. The sort of quiet that organically comes about after you’ve watched a good movie, or had an epiphany during a lecture. The two were processing their time spent together.  </p>
<p>      Finally, while at the station, Catra broke the silence.</p>
<p>     “This was nice,” was all she said. She wasn’t quite sure else how to verbalize what she was feeling. How can you tell someone they simultaneously made you feel extremely at peace <em>and</em> like you were about to burst into flame whenever you were near them?</p>
<p>     “It was. It is,” Adora said, smiling lightly at the other girl.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     The bus pulled up, hissing as it’s brakes activated. As the doors automatically opened, Adora felt a twinge of sadness. When she glanced over at the other girl’s face, she was met with an expression that mirrored her own.</p>
<p>     Adora didn’t know what came over her- some sort of ineffable burst of courage- but before she could overthink, she planted a light kiss on Catra’s cheek.</p>
<p>     “That’s for the drink and the feelings jam,” Adora called back to a stunned Catra as the blonde boarded the bus.</p>
<p>     Even as the vehicle pulled away, Catra remained at the stop, frozen in place, the light pressure of Adora’s lips still tingling on her cheek.</p>
<p><br/>     Yeah. It was a<em> very</em> nice day.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Poggers.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Distractions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     “What’s with you today? You’re gonna hurt yourself if you don’t fix your form,” Huntara's gruff voice reprimanded down at Adora, who was in the middle of a deadlift rep.   </p>
<p>     “Just have a lot on my mind,” Adora shrugged, rubbing her lower back. Her personal trainer was right- her deadlifting form had been a bit lazy. She imagined her back would ache tomorrow.</p>
<p>     “School?”</p>
<p>     “No, it’s uh, something else. Someone else.”</p>
<p>     “Someone giving you trouble?” Huntara straightened up, posturing as if she were ready to go teach someone a lesson at a moment’s notice.</p>
<p>     “No! Not like that- this girl and I are talking to each other. And I just… she’s really, really great is all.” Adora was very much aware that she was probably blushing like a maniac right about then. A glance at herself in the gym mirror confirmed it.</p>
<p>     “Don’t go soft on me, blondie.”</p>
<p>     “Soft? I am <em>no</em>t soft.” Adora crossed her arms, defensively.</p>
<p>     “Hey, I’m just giving you a hard time,” Huntara laughed, “I think it’s great you finally found yourself a girlfriend.”</p>
<p>     “Well I mean- we’re not girlfriends, you know.”</p>
<p>     “How many dates have you been on?”</p>
<p>     “Just one… I <em>think</em>? I don’t even know if she thought it was a date though.”</p>
<p>     “Then ask her. Take charge. Or, you’re proving my point that you’re a softie.”</p>
<p>     Adora narrowed her eyes and sighed. The other girl had a good point. It had been a few days since Adora had gone to Catra’s place. They hadn’t met in person since due to conflicting schedules, but had texted each other whenever they had a chance. Still, whatever it is they were doing was undefined. Neither girl seemed to have the guts to have a discussion about it.</p>
<p>     “You know what? You’re right,” Adora brought out her phone and tapped on her messages.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>To: catra ^-.-^</p>
<p>               You. Me. Antonio’s Pizza on 3rd strt<br/>               tomorrow b4 your work?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     She slipped her phone back in her bag. Catra probably wouldn’t reply until later, and Adora had to finish up her workout anyway.</p>
<p>     It was hard to get the brunette off her mind, no matter how hard she was trying to focus on what she was doing, however. Glimmer and Bow teased her about it a lot, much to her annoyance. They seemed to get over their distaste for Catra and how she had ghosted Adora once they saw how happy Adora was, though. Adora was grateful for their open-mindedness; she couldn’t stand it if her friends didn’t approve of who she was dating.</p>
<p>     <em>Not that we’re dating,</em> Adora corrected herself.</p>
<p>     Yeah, they <em>really</em> needed to sort that out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     Saturday nights were always some of the busiest, and it was with great relief that Catra took her break. While she ate a protein bar, she whipped out her phone. When she saw a message notification from Adora, she couldn’t help but smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>adora:</p>
<p>You. Me. Antonio’s Pizza on 3rd strt<br/>tomorrow b4 your work?</p>
<p>                hell yeah. see you then</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     Catra missed seeing the other girl in person. Who knew flirting with a busy college student when you yourself were semi-nocturnal would be so difficult?</p>
<p>    It was bizarre to Catra, the grip this girl seemed to have on her. After only three meetings in person and one kiss on the cheek, she still couldn’t help but yearn to spend every moment with her. She ached to just be in the same room as her, much less to be able to hold her hand. To stare into those blue eyes. To gaze longingly at her lips-</p>
<p>     “Time’s up, Catra,” Lonnie poked her head in through the door. When she saw Catra smiling like an idiot at her phone, she crossed her arms, expectantly, “who’s got you all blushing?”</p>
<p>     “No one,” Catra stood up and walked out of the back room and into the bustle of the bar.</p>
<p>     “Mhm,” Lonnie followed her out and the two began tag-teaming a long list of orders, “sure it ain’t that girl who you were pining after all last week?”</p>
<p>     “Pining? Hell you talking about?”</p>
<p>     “You come into work acting all dejected and self-pitying and expect me to not assume it’s because of the pretty blonde birthday girl?”</p>
<p>     “Maybe I was just moody.”</p>
<p>     “You’re always moody. This was different. And now you’re all smiling with anime-ass sparkles in your eyes. You gonna fill me in, or should I be left to my own imagination?”</p>
<p>     “Well, are you gonna tell me what the deal with you, Kyle, and Rogelio is or should I be left to <em>my</em> imagination?”</p>
<p>     “Touché,” Lonnie narrowed her eyes, though a grin was playing at the corner of her mouth.</p>
<p>     “I think I’m gonna ask her to be my girlfriend,” Catra said after a moment, “make things official.”</p>
<p>     “I swear I remember you telling me once you weren’t the type to do long-term stuff.”</p>
<p>     “Yeah, well, that was before I met Adora. She’s…” Catra sighed, “She’s really someone special.”</p>
<p>     “Should I call the U-haul?”</p>
<p>     “God, you’re insufferable,” Catra rolled her eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     “No, hear me out: if you fold it, you get less grease on your face. Try it, I swear,” Catra passionately explained to Adora, who was looking skeptical.</p>
<p>     “Well, why is it cut into triangles if it’ll just be folded? Riddle me that.”</p>
<p>     “Adora, you are disgracing the art of pizza eating right now. I bet you don’t eat your crusts either, huh?”</p>
<p>     “It’s just bread! Why would I eat it if there’s no sauce or toppings on it?”</p>
<p>     “Holy shit. You’re <em>literally</em> breaking my heart right now.” The two girls shared a laugh over their enthusiastic pizza debate, which had garnered the annoyed stares of some of the other patrons in the small Italian joint. Adora could care less, though. The only thing that mattered was Catra and the half-pie of pepperoni pizza they were sharing.</p>
<p>     The butterflies in her stomach were hard to ignore. She got that feeling every time she looked at the other girl with her unkempt hair, the numerous freckles dotted over her brown skin, and those disarmingly intrepid eyes of hers.</p>
<p>     The fluttering sensation increased tenfold as Adora tried to mentally psyche herself up to propose the idea of being girlfriends.</p>
<p>     <em>Take charge,</em> Huntara’s voice echoed in her mind.</p>
<p>     “Hey, can I ask you something?”</p>
<p>     “Shoot.”</p>
<p>     “I know we haven’t been seeing each other long but,” Adora nervously fiddled with her hair, “I like you. A lot. And I was wondering if, uh-“</p>
<p>     Adora trailed off, becoming unsure by every increasing second. What if she was coming on too strong too fast and she scared her away? She was beginning to regret everything, but Catra’s hand intertwining with hers brought her back to reality.</p>
<p>     “If you’re asking me to be your girlfriend, then the answer is yes.”</p>
<p>     “Wait, really?”</p>
<p>     “<em>Duh</em>. I like you a lot too, you know,” Catra smiled reassuringly.</p>
<p>     “Oh thank god. I wasn’t sure and-“</p>
<p>     “You are such an idiot,” Catra laughed softly as she closed the gap between the two.</p>
<p>     Before Adora could process it, she felt Catra’s hand on her cheek, and her lips press against her own. Adora caught her breath before letting herself melt into the kiss- it was like time had stopped for the two. It was just them in that moment; and the jaunty Italian music playing through the speakers.</p>
<p>     “Your breath smells like garlic, by the way,” Catra whispered as she gingerly pulled away from the short yet tender kiss.</p>
<p>     “And <em>you</em> are annoying.”</p>
<p>     “I used to make fun of couples who were all mushy in public, but here we are,” she joked, rubbing the back of Adora’s hand with her thumb.</p>
<p>     “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain, or whatever that phrase is,” Adora shrugged. Her cheeks were beginning to hurt from all the smiling she had been doing throughout the date.</p>
<p>     She would have <em>a lot</em> to tell Glimmer about when she got home.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>alt chapter title of this is: Adora Commits Pizza Sins</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Heating Up</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     “Your place is the complete opposite of mine,” Catra said as she regarded the bright interior and colorful decor. Through the diaphanous curtains hung over the windows, orange light streamed in from the lowering sun, casting everything in warm amber tones. </p><p>     “Glimmer’s our resident interior designer. If it were me, there’d be a couch, a t.v., and <em>maybe</em> a plant.”</p><p>     “You’re a minimalist?”</p><p>    “No, I just can’t decorate for shit,” Adora said, prompting a dry laugh from Catra.</p><p>     It had been a week since the two made things official. For once, it was Catra who got to annoy Scorpia with her long FaceTime sessions and uncharacteristic romanticism. Revenge had never felt more wholesome.</p><p>     When Catra was told that the bar would be closed Sunday through Tuesday to do some construction, she and Adora decided that the two would capitalize off of the free time by hanging out whenever she wasn’t in class.</p><p>     Their latest expedition led them to terrorize the local supermarket for ingredients to make dinner at Adora’s apartment. She knew next to nothing about cooking food that wasn’t nutrient dense and tasteless. Catra made it her mission to make the most delicious meal Adora had <em>ever</em> tasted.</p><p> </p><p>     “Alright. Where do we start?” Adora stood with arms akimbo, her eyes strategically skimming over the pile of ingredients spread over the counter.    </p><p>     “You have a pan right? Go ahead and grease that while I make the sauce.”</p><p>     “On it, Chef Catra,” Adora saluted, and Catra snorted at her girlfriend’s dorkiness. They were making broiled salmon- something which, when done right, was one of Catra’s favorite meals. Plus, it was easy for Adora to help with, without relying on chopping up a bunch of ingredients with knives that she had no idea how to use.</p><p>     They worked well together like that; Catra taking the lead, Adora enjoying the relief of performing mindless tasks that still garnered a sense of accomplishment. She definitely began to see the appeal of cooking, now. Or, perhaps, Catra was just an excellent partner.</p><p>     “Aaand in the oven it goes,” Catra pushed the pan in and the two gazed proudly at the soon-to-be-completed meal.</p><p>     “We make a pretty good team, huh?” Adora nudged Catra in the ribs with a smug look.</p><p>     “Yeah, we do, don’t we?” Catra hopped up on the counter, and Adora sat next to her.</p><p>     “Where’d you learn how to cook?”</p><p>     “I did a lot of cooking in the orphanage and stuff. Not extravagant meals or whatever, but it was something I was good at. It was relaxing. Been doing it whenever I can. Scorpia tends to do it more than I do these days, but I still take control of the kitchen every now and then.”</p><p>     “Well, you can take control any time,” Adora said. When she saw Catra raise her brow, she blushed and quickly added on, “of the kitchen. Here. This kitchen.”</p><p>     Catra laughed at Adora’s flustered clarification, prompting Adora to lightly shove the other girl with a bit more force than she intended. To catch herself, Catra’s hand shot out, grabbing the collar of the other girl’s shirt. The momentum,ended up pulling Adora so that she was leaning over Catra.</p><p>     They stayed like that for a moment, breathing hitched and suddenly very aware of the proximity of each other’s bodies. Wordlessly, Adora brought Catra into a kiss.</p><p>     There was a different quality to the kiss, this time. A sort of inscrutable, explorative passion that made her stomach do somersaults. Catra’s hand wrapped around Adora’s waist, pulling her closer.</p><p>     If Catra couldn’t already hear her heart pounding, she certainly must have been able to when her hand traveled so that it slid under her shirt, pressing against Adora’s lower back.</p><p>     Adora gasped into the kiss, positioning her hand on the back of Catra’s head so that her fingers brushed through her thick hair. However, a scent hit Adora’s nostrils that caused her to pull away abruptly, leaving Catra in a daze.</p><p>     “Do you smell something burning?” Adora’s nose wrinkled.</p><p>     “Oh, fuck-“ Catra cursed and quickly rushed over to the oven, pulling out a thoroughly blackened salmon. Adora ran over to the window to open it and fan the smoke out before the alarms could go off. There was truly no mood killer like an incessant beeping noise.</p><p>     “What have I just walked into?” Glimmer said, standing in the doorway, holding some mail.</p><p>     “Just the two finest chefs in all of the city,” Adora smiled, gesturing to the burnt pan that Catra was scowling over.</p><p>     “Oh I can see that. Gordon Ramsey’s got nothing on you two,” Glimmer smirked at the chaos, making her way over to help with the windows,      “Nice seeing you again, Catra.”</p><p>     “Hey there, Sparkles,” Catra leaned against the counter, “I don’t think there’s any saving the salmon, by the way.”</p><p>     “Aw, rest in peace fishy,” Adora frowned at the charred hunk. “We can always try again another time. Until then, there’s this place Glimmer and I get delivery from all the time that I know you’ll love- Glimmer, you staying?”</p><p>     “Ah, don’t let me crash your date. I’ll be leaving in a bit,” Glimmer blushed a bit, “Have my own date night with Bow.”</p><p>     “Oh?” Adora wiggled her eyebrows much to Glimmer’s apparent annoyance, “have fun, stay safe, and all that.”</p><p>     “Yeah, yeah,” Glimmer rolled her eyes and made her way out of the kitchen, retreating into her own room.</p><p>     There was a sad sense of finality as the ruined meal slid into the trash. Adora offered a consolation kiss to the clearly bummed Catra before showing her the menu for the nearby Thai place.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>     Adora was right- Catra did love the food. But then again, she would have been perfectly contented to eat <em>anything</em> if it meant simultaneously being able to sit on a couch with her leg slung over Adora’s while the two watched a cheesy horror film.</p><p>    Glimmer had left early on, leaving the two on their own. There was a certain tension in the air- an unspoken question that neither seemed courageous enough to broach. What would’ve happened if the kitchen hadn’t almost caught on fire? And, more importantly: could they still find out?</p><p>     Long after they had finished their food, Catra was finding it hard to focus on the movie, as Adora’s hand rested just above the brunette’s knee.  </p><p>     She’d discretely steal glances, eyes lingering on the other girl’s lips, her exposed biceps, her hand that absentmindedly gripped Catra’s leg. Was it just her imagination, or was Adora’s hand getting higher?</p><p>     Adora caught her lingering gaze. Besides the usual sparkle in her eye there was a unique intensity that sent shivers down Catra’s spine.</p><p>     Nope. <em>Definitely</em> not just her imagination.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Uhhh so I’m not saying there’s going to be a smut chapter next but… actually, that’s exactly what I’m saying.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Indulgences</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i am looking respectfully</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     They held eye contact like that for a moment; a protracted, lusty gaze which made Catra’s heart skip a beat. The two seemed to be daring each other to make the first move. Not wanting to be out-staged, of course, Catra lunged forward, her lips finding Adora’s while her hands went to work taking out her ponytail so that her blonde hair could flow freely.</p>
<p>     When Catra was fourteen, she kissed a girl for the first time. She had found the experience surprisingly underwhelming- it was just a peck, after all, and she didn’t like her all that much. Since then, she had had plenty more kisses, working to learn all the do's and don'ts. She was damn good at it, from a technical perspective. But not until kissing Adora in that pizza shop had she felt actual passion- it wasn't just a kiss, it was<em> more</em> than that, somehow. And now, here on Adora’s couch, as she kissed along the other girl's jaw, she felt as the passion for the other girl rose to indeterminable heights.</p>
<p>     “Catra…" Adora whimpered, and the brunette smiled as she bit lightly at her earlobe.</p>
<p>     “Yes?” she replied, her heart racing as she felt Adora’s hand grip her butt firmly.</p>
<p>     “My room,” she said with an authoritative air, almost as if it were a command.</p>
<p>     The two managed to stumble into the bedroom, somehow able to cover the distance even amidst their fervent making out.</p>
<p>     Once the door was shut behind them, Adora got right to work. As she removed her shirt, Catra's eyes trailed greedily over Adora’s exposed upper half. <em>Holy shit</em>, this girl was ripped. Her physique was incredible, and Catra couldn’t help but admire her.</p>
<p>     Adora must’ve taken notice, for a cocky smile broke out over her lips before she brought Catra back in for another heated kiss. Catra’s hands made their way from where they were wrapped around her neck, down so that she was pulling at the other girl’ belt.</p>
<p>     “This okay?”</p>
<p>     “God, yes,” Adora said, helping Catra with the removal of her pants. Catra began undressing as well, peeling her articles of clothing off in a frenzied manner, desperate to touch Adora again. The two were practically naked now, their bodies warm against each other, the room already becoming humid with their heavy breathing. Catra's hands seemed to have a mind of their own, tracing over the blonde’s muscles as if she were working to commit each curve to memory.</p>
<p>     She pushed Adora down on the bed, positioning herself so that she was straddling her as she bit down on her collarbone. Adora let out a slight moan, much to Catra’s delight. She pulled away to admire the mark she left, the skin already beginning to bruise.</p>
<p>     Seeing her opportunity, Adora used her strength to flip Catra so that she was the one who was pinned on the bed.</p>
<p>     “Do you have to be <em>so</em> competitive?” Catra mused, breathless.</p>
<p>     “Makes it more fun,” Adora bit her lip in amusement, her muscular arms holding Catra down. She kissed Catra's neck, hands sliding over her breasts. Catra shivered at the contact; it was like electricity was coming from the other girl’s fingertips as they deftly removed her bra. As Adora kissed down her chest, Catra laced her fingers in her blonde hair.</p>
<p>     “You should let your hair down more often,” Catra managed to say between gasps as the blonde’s tongue made contact with her left nipple.</p>
<p>     “Maybe, just for you,” Adora smirked, before biting down. Catra tried to stifle a yelp. While Adora seemed to be clueless in all other aspects of life, she <em>sure</em> knew what she was doing here. Catra could feel heat building between her legs, aching to be indulged.</p>
<p>     As if Adora read her mind, she positioned her leg in between Catra’s own, just <em>barely</em> touching her. She could tell Adora was getting a kick out of toying with her, and she would be damned if she allowed herself to submit that easily.</p>
<p>     Using all her strength, Catra wrapped her legs around Adora and flipped her, quickly sliding her body so that her head was between her thighs before the blonde could make any counter-moves.</p>
<p>     “Oh, <em>I'm</em> the competitive one,” Adora rolled her eyes, but her hungry gaze on the brunette gave her away. Catra chuckled lowly and slid her hands up so that they were gripping Adora’s hips as she parted her legs further.</p>
<p>     Catra kissed up her thigh, taking her time as she got closer to where Adora wanted her to go the most. She could sense the blonde's building frustration as she squirmed. Right when she was about to reach it, she dodged out of the way, diverting her mouth to leave a hickey on her inner thigh instead.</p>
<p>     “<em>Seriously?</em>” Adora whined.</p>
<p>     “You're so easy to tease,” Catra snickered, before finally giving in, gingerly pulling off her soaked panties.</p>
<p>     As her tongue swept over Adora’s folds, she felt her shiver in pleasure. Her moans were music to Catra's ears as she focused her attention on her clit. Her tongue circled and lapped, slowly at first, and then increasing in speed and intensity as Adora's reactions did the same.</p>
<p>     Adora pulled Catra's hair as she worked, both to keep it out of her face, and because every time she tugged, Catra let out a moan of her own. She could tell the girl was getting close- her breathing was shallow as her fingers dug into Catra’s curls.</p>
<p>     “Catra-“ Adora's voice broke off into a moan as her back arched. One final lick sent her over the edge, and her legs shook from the intensity of the climax. Catra pulled back, enjoying the view of Adora whimpering as she came down.</p>
<p>     “God, you’re good,” Adora said dreamily, as Catra crawled back up to her straddling position on Adora’s lap.</p>
<p>     “Careful, you’ll inflate my ego.”</p>
<p>     “Impossible. It’s already reached maximum capacity,” Adora joked. She sat up so that Catra was eye level with her now. She brought her into a slow, sloppy kiss, one hand on the small of Catra’s back while the other tugged at her underwear.</p>
<p>     Catra had almost forgotten how turned on she was amidst her servicing the other girl, but it all came rushing back to her as she melted under Adora’s touch.</p>
<p>     Adora’s hand slipped under the fabric, gauging Catra’s wetness. At just the slightest bit of contact, Catra moaned, aching for more. Adora obliged, as she pulled off her underwear, and slid two fingers inside.</p>
<p>     “<em>Fuck,</em>” Catra cursed, unable to hold back her profanities as Adora’s fingers curled inside her, making direct contact with her sweet spot. She threw her arms around Adora’s neck, holding her tight as she pumped in and out.</p>
<p>     Adora made short work of her; it took no time at all until Catra was throwing her head back, her inner walls contracting and dilating with pleasure. Catra didn't know why she had assumed Adora was so innocent- this jock knew how to make a girl a cum like no other.</p>
<p>     The two were silent as they stared up at the ceiling, heart rates decelerating back to a resting rate. Catra felt as if she had gone through both a full-body workout and a full-body massage at the same time, and her eyelids were heavy with fatigue.</p>
<p>     “Was that okay?” Adora asked, self-doubt creeping into her voice.</p>
<p>     “Are you kidding?” Catra rolled over so that she made eye contact with the blonde, “that was <em>more</em> than okay.”</p>
<p>     For as confident and cocky as she came off most of the time, Adora certainly had her moments of insecurity. Catra squeezed her hand, prompting Adora to lean over and kiss the tip of her nose.</p>
<p>     “Thank you,” Catra said after a moment, her hand brushing through Adora’s hair.</p>
<p>     “For what?” Adora tilted her head, unsure where the gratitude was coming from.</p>
<p>     <em>For a second chance. For a reason to get up every morning. For letting me call you mine</em>, she wanted to say.</p>
<p>     “Everything,” Catra sighed, snuggling up closer to the blonde.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Morning Light</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     Catra couldn’t remember the last time she slept in the same bed as anyone. Sure, she had been with other girls before, but she never stayed the whole night. This was unprecedented. Yet despite the unfamiliarity, here, with Adora’s arm draped over her waist, she felt unequivocally safe and grounded.  </p>
<p>     Adora had fallen asleep quickly, her blonde hair tousled and loose, tumbling over her bare shoulders which rose and fell steadily with her deep breaths.</p>
<p>     In a psychology class she took in high school, Catra remembered learning about how humans developed feelings for each other. How dopamine and norepinephrine created excitement and pleasure when meeting someone new; how oxytocin created a bond once a deeper connection was made. It took the magic out of the idea of falling in love- a concept Catra was already jaded to. It was just <em>science</em>. Biological responses, just like getting hungry or feeling tired. What was so special about that?</p>
<p>     Yet, with Adora slumbering peacefully next to her and Catra secure in her arms, her cynicism evaporated. Everything about the other girl was special. The way her laugh bubbled out of her even when a joke was bad, the way she brought her hand up to her chin when she was thinking, the way she made Catra feel like she was the only person in the world...</p>
<p>     Catra nuzzled closer, cherishing the moment of intimacy. Never in a million years did she ever think a dumb jock would be the one to win her over like this. But then again, weren’t soul mates a one in a million type of deal?</p>
<p>     Listening to the sound of rain outside paired with Adora’s breathing, Catra lulled off to sleep with the warm feeling of contentedness in her chest.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     While they had certainly become comfortable with each other rather quickly, Adora realized that, as she peacefully slept, Catra looked vulnerable for the first time since she had known her. Her features were relaxed, and softened by the incoming morning light.</p>
<p>     Adora tentatively brushed her hand along Catra’s cheek, lightly tracing over the freckles sprinkled on her brown skin. The other girl stirred, unconsciously bringing her hand up to Adora’s so that it stayed rested on her face. Adora smiled at the tenderness the other girl displayed, even while asleep.</p>
<p>     Feelings began to stir in Adora’s chest as she gazed at the girl cuddled up next to her, wrapped in her bedsheets. Catra was a girl who had to grow up too fast. A girl who existed in a perpetual state of guardedness, which was now stripped away in the liminal space that seemed to exist in Adora’s bed. Adora wanted to keep her close to her, to keep her safe and happy. They had only just met, but Adora felt like she would do anything for her.</p>
<p>     The emotional stability went both ways, too. Catra was the only person she really felt comfortable fully opening up to. Some of her confessions were unknown even to Bow and Glimmer, who she trusted implicitly. With Catra, there was a sense of freedom; liberation that reverberated through her entire state of being.</p>
<p>     The two shared a peaceful morning together, the serenity only interrupted by the occasional chirping of birds or passing car outside. Though, their bliss couldn’t last forever; Adora had a class in about an hour and figured she should probably start getting ready. She leaned in, gently pressing her lips to Catra’s forehead before carefully untangling herself.</p>
<p>     She took a shower, and threw on some comfortable clothes which concealed the landscape of marks left on her skin. She scoffed as she traced over some of them in the shower. Catra was a firecracker, that much was true.</p>
<p>     Before leaving, she caught one final look at the other girl. Her hand was reached out where Adora had been laying. She looked so small alone in the bed, and Adora considered blowing off the lecture altogether just to be able to spend some more time with her. Considering how hard she had to work in her classes just to scrape by, however, she decided against ditching.</p>
<p>     Still, even during the lecture she could hardly focus. The only thing on her mind was Catra. Adora was on cloud-nine, thinking about the way it felt to hold her after their night together. Everything felt so<em> right</em> with her. Adora had only tried dating a couple times in her life, but the way she felt with Catra put no doubt in her mind that this relationship was special. It was like she was both floating away, yet still had her feet planted firmly on the ground. Catra was both her tether, and the wind beneath her wings.</p>
<p>     “Uh, everything okay, Adora?” Mermista, who was sitting next to her, nudged her.</p>
<p>     “Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Why?”</p>
<p>     “You’re like, hella spaced out. Even more so than usual. Also, and I say this because I love you, you <em>might</em> wanna readjust your scarf.”</p>
<p>     Adora blushed while she brought the fabric up higher as Mermista cracked a teasing smile.</p>
<p>     “You really like that girl, huh?”</p>
<p>     “Yeah,” Adora sighed, cracking a wistful smile, “yeah, I do.”</p>
<p>     “Thank god. Hawk and I kind of thought you might die alone,” she joked, crossing her arms and redirecting her attention to the professor speaking at the front of the class, “but shush, you're distracting me.”</p>
<p>     Adora rolled her eyes, and tried to refocus. Even then, the professor just looked like an amorphous blob, occasionally gesticulating and writing things on the board.</p>
<p>     There was only one thing on the forefront of her mind: <em>Is this what it felt like to find “the one”? </em></p>
<p>     Adora wasn't sure. But what she was sure of in that moment, was how happy she felt. Truly, <em>truly</em> happy.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Short lil morning after chapter. We're approaching endgame territory, everyone!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Critical Analysis</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     As Catra woke up alone in an unfamiliar bed, a moment of panic set in before she realized where she was. It was Adora’s room, neat and simple. Well, neat except for the clothes thrown on the floor. Next to her, on the nightstand was a handwritten note:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>hey sleepyhead,</em>
  <br/>
  <em>didn’t want to wake you. i have class and then tutoring with entrapta. soccer team's meeting for lunch so i won’t be free til later, if you're able to hang too. if u need a ride, glimmer can take you where you gotta go! or perfuma, if she's in her apartment.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>see you &lt;3</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     Catra remembered back to the napkin number, with scribbled penmanship. She had figured it was just because of Adora's inebriation, but, looking at the note, it seemed her writing was always messy. Catra found it adorably charming- just another aspect about Adora you wouldn't assume upon first glance.</p>
<p>     After stretching, she threw on some spare clothes Adora had left out in case she needed them. They were a bit big on her, of course, but cozy nonetheless. When she brought the sweater over her head, she noticed Adora’s scent lingering on it. The blonde always smelled like cinnamon and citrus- two scents Catra had grown to love more than any others.</p>
<p>     She was in a good mood. A <em>very</em> good mood. Even having to do the walk of shame past Glimmer and Bow hanging out in the living room didn’t phase her. She didn't want to bother Glimmer or Perfuma for a ride, and instead called Scorpia to swing by. She had wanted to spend some more time with Catra anyway, so the two agreed on lunch at a shabby but well-loved diner a mile outside of town.</p>
<p>     The two tended to spend more time apart than together these days, and Catra did <em>truly</em> miss her best friend and was grateful for the time together. As great as having a girlfriend was, sometimes you just needed a regular old friend to keep you company.</p>
<p>     Still, having to deal with Scorpia’s enthusiastic interrogation about Catra and Adora's night together <em>was</em> pushing the envelope a bit.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     When they were seated and had received their orders, Scorpia finally blurted out:</p>
<p>     “Are you in love with her?”</p>
<p>     “<em>What?</em>” the bluntness of the question threw Catra off, “we’ve only been dating for a little bit. Isn’t it a bit early for ‘i love you’s’?”</p>
<p>     Scorpia shrugged, stabbing a few pieces of broccoli with her fork. Catra tapped her feet while she thought about the inquiry. <em>Did</em> she love Adora?</p>
<p>     “Are you and Perfuma in love?”</p>
<p>     Scorpia blushed and leaned back in her chair with a slight grin on her face.</p>
<p>     “I love her. I really do. Haven’t said it out loud yet to each other, but I feel so much love and happiness when I’m with her.”</p>
<p>     “And what does love <em>feel</em> like? How is it supposed to feel?”</p>
<p>     “Well,” Scorpia tilted her head in thought, “I’m sure it feels different for everyone. The way one person loves can be totally different from someone else’s way of experiencing it.”</p>
<p>     “That doesn’t help,” Catra grumbled, “Why can't there just be a clear cut definition, huh? Why does everything have to be so <em>fucking</em> difficult all the time?”</p>
<p>     “You want to know if you're in love, right?” Scorpia asked, patiently.</p>
<p>     Catra nodded, avoiding eye contact.</p>
<p>     “Do me a favor and describe to me what it feels like when you’re with her. What it feels like when you think of her, when you talk to each other on the phone, all that jazz.”</p>
<p>     Catra took a deep breath and meditated on the question, searching for the right verbiage. After a silence, she spoke again:</p>
<p>     “It's like… we're the only people in the world when we're together. And, god, that’s cheesy but it's<em> true</em>. And even when I’m not with her in person, I always think about her. She makes me want to be a better, to strive for better things. And not just because it would make her proud, but because I’ve felt the best I have in maybe my whole life and I want it to stay like this forever. I want to stay with <em>her</em> forever.”</p>
<p>     Scorpia was quiet after the explanation, her keen eyes watching Catra intently before responding.</p>
<p>     “I think you have your answer, then,” she shrugged, smiling, before getting back to her food.</p>
<p>     Catra considered her own words for a minute, picking at her plate. She wasn’t very hungry all of a sudden. Her heart felt like it was pumped full of radiant light, ready to burst at any moment.</p>
<p>     “<em>Fuck</em>,” she remarked to herself, “I’m in love.”</p>
<p>     “Why does that statement warrant a ‘fuck' might I ask?”</p>
<p>     “Because, <em>Scorpia</em>,” Catra ran a hand through her hair, “I’ve been compromised.”</p>
<p>     “You make it sound like you're a spy. Or a microchip.”</p>
<p>     “I’ve been compromised, and I’m in love, and now everything is fucked!” her voice began to raise unintentionally, garnering some judgmental and concerned glances from other diners, “Scorpia, what if she doesn't love me back? What the hell am I gonna do?”</p>
<p>     “Wildcat,” Scorpia said in a placating voice, “let's take it down a few notches, okay? Adora clearly cares about you a lot.”</p>
<p>     “Right, but caring about someone and loving them are two completely different things.”</p>
<p>     “Yes, but,” Scorpia sighed, “Look, let’s put it this way: I trusted you when you gave me advice on making things official with Perfuma, right? Now I need you to trust me. Maybe she loves you, maybe she doesn’t, maybe she will love you down the line, or maybe she'll fall out of love with you in the future- her emotions aren’t anything you can directly control. And I know how much you love to have control, Catra, but sometimes the best thing you can do is take a deep breath, and let things shake out, okay?”</p>
<p>     Catra didn't respond, forcing herself to take another bite of her omelette.</p>
<p>     “Perfuma’s rubbing off on you, you know that?” she weakly joked, looking out the window.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     “Aaand done!” Adora set down her pencil and slid the paper over to Entrapta, “these look okay?”</p>
<p>     Entrapta hummed while she looked over the work, checking for errors with her red pen at the ready.</p>
<p>     “Looks good, Adora!” she said after a brief time, “great work today.”</p>
<p>     “Wait, really?” Adora was shocked at her performance. Math was always her worst subject, and even when she seemed to really understand a unit, she still tended to get at <em>least</em> a couple wrong.</p>
<p>     “Yep!” Entrapta looked proudly upon her student, “you see what happens when you slow down a bit?”</p>
<p>     “Huh,” Adora slumped back in her chair in amusement. She had a tendency to rush into things, whether that be in school subjects, sports, or other matters of life. She rarely slowed down to see the big picture before jumping in head-first.</p>
<p>     “Anything else you need help with, before we wrap things up?”</p>
<p>     “No, I think I’m good,” Adora was staring at her paper, surprised. As Entrapta began packing up her things, a question itched at the back of her skull, however. “Actually, wait- I do have one more thing.”</p>
<p>     “Sure!”</p>
<p>     “It's not school related, though, if that's okay?”</p>
<p>     Entrapta tapped her pen against her chin as she sat back down in her seat.</p>
<p>     “Of course- though, I'm not sure how much of a help I’ll be,” she shrugged.</p>
<p>     “It's about- it's about Catra, actually. Have you, I guess, <em>noticed</em> anything about her?”</p>
<p>     “Anything abnormal, you mean?” Entrapta began counting on her fingers, “She seems more talkative than usual. Doesn’t yell at me when I leave bits and bobs around the apartment. Spends less time at home, has greatly decreased her average alcoholic drinks per week-“</p>
<p>     “That’s- wow, that’s a lot-“</p>
<p>     “You've done some changing for yourself, Adora. While I can’t analyze your personal habits in more casual settings, here when we meet for tutoring you seem much more relaxed: looser posture, lower respiratory rate, your grip on your pencil has slackened- all which has seemed to positively correlate to an improved academic performance! At least, with the subjects you have me tutor you on.”</p>
<p>     Entrapta’s data dump made Adora's head spin as she processed it. She had initially asked the question to try to gauge how serious Catra was with the relationship- instead, she received a statistical analysis on how the girls' relationship seemed to positively impact them.</p>
<p>     “That’s… good, right? That's a sign of a good relationship? That we’re meant to be together and all that?”</p>
<p>     “There's only so much observation can tell you. Relationship stuff is a bit beyond my level of expertise,” Entrapta bit the end of her pen, “when it comes to those sorts of things, I'm afraid it’s up to your own introspection. Your ‘gut,’ if you will.”</p>
<p>     Adora was starting to think Entrapta wasn't the best person to ask about matters of the heart- though, it was nice getting an objective opinion from someone who had access to see both sides. On the other hand, it was completely terrifying when the advice seemed to boil down to "trust your gut!”</p>
<p>     She tended to ignore her gut, most of the time. Like the one time her gut told her not to drop down into a bowl when she had never skated before in her life, and she sprained her wrist as a result. Or when she tried to spin her colorguard friend’s flag and knocked one of her teeth out. The list goes on.</p>
<p>     Regardless, she thanked Entrapta and made her way to the dining hall, letting her thoughts wander as she walked the route by herself.</p>
<p>     Adora spent her life prioritizing other people. Her mom, her coaches, her friends- she never really learned how to feel her own emotions fully.      She knew what platonic love felt like, of course- but romantic seemed like a whole new playing field.</p>
<p>     As she dwelled on how she felt with Catra, however, she paid attention to the way her heart rate quickened. How a smile danced at the corner of her lips whenever she recalled them telling each other anecdotes about their lives. How she felt a pang of sadness anytime their schedules didn’t line up and the two would have to go a day or two without seeing each other.</p>
<p>     For once, Adora paid attention to<em> her</em> feelings. And all these feelings seemed to be adding up to one big epiphany.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     Catra had politely blown off hanging out with Adora for the rest of the day. She needed some time to collect her thoughts- more specifically, how she felt about Adora, and couldn’t very well do that with the girl in question there with her.</p>
<p>     Instead of diligent introspection, however, she distracted herself by anything and everything else- pointless games on her phone, reorganizing music playlists- whatever got her mind off of her crisis.</p>
<p>     That night, Catra had difficulty going to sleep. She kept thinking about Adora, with her arms around her. Her conversation with Scorpia was also prevalent in her mind.</p>
<p>     Scorpia was right; she couldn't hinge her worth and happiness on a single relationship. That was bad for e<em>veryone</em> involved. But goddamn, she wanted nothing more in the world than for Adora to love her back.</p>
<p>     “Why does no one tell you how terrifying being in love is?” Catra muttered to herself and rolled over in bed.</p>
<p>     Ancient Greeks used to think falling in love was a type of madness; a mania that was to be feared, as it was capable of making a person abandon all sensibilities in blind pursuit of another. Thats how Catra felt right then. Like her entire world had been upheaved and she was sitting in the debris, trying to make sense of it all.</p>
<p>     She ran her hand over where moonlight hit her sheets. She never realized how cold her room seemed until she had been able to spend a night sharing in Adora's warmth.</p>
<p>     When she tried to shut her eyes and get some sleep, they would just pop back open as her subconscious dwelled on possibilities of heartbreak. Unable to take it any longer, she rolled over and unlocked her phone to send a text.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>to: adora-ble</p>
<p>          Hey. U up?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     To her surprise, within a few seconds, three dots popped up indicating the other girl was typing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>yeah. having trouble<br/>sleeping too?</p>
<p>          Yeah… U down<br/>          to go for a drive or<br/>          something?</p>
<p>yes please. i’ll<br/>borrow Glimmer’s<br/>car n pick u up in like<br/>10?</p>
<p>          See u then &lt;3</p>
<p>&lt;3</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     The hearts looked so little in their text windows. How could a less-than symbol and a number three accurately convey how much Adora meant to her? She sat up in bed with a sigh and threw on a jacket, trading her spandex shorts for some warmer leggings.   </p>
<p>      While waiting to be picked up, her fingers drummed impatiently on her knees. She had resolved to see how Adora felt about their relationship tonight, but had no idea how to go about broaching it. How exactly does one say, <em>“hey, so do you love me, or what?”</em> without sounding like an egotistical maniac? And of course, she didn't want to pressure Adora into confessing prematurely or anything like that- Catra was willing to wait as long as the other girl needed.</p>
<p>     A text saying she was parked out front jolted Catra out of her thoughts. Her hands were clammy as she briskly walked downstairs, and she shoved them deep in her jacket pockets.</p>
<p>     As she sat down in the car, she could tell Adora was a bit distant as well. She clearly had something on her mind, and besides the greetings the two gave each other, the drive was silent, spare for the faint indie music coming from the speakers.</p>
<p>     “There’s this little outlook up on the park on the hill,” Adora broke out, “figured we could chill up there and stare at the lights of the city, ya know?”</p>
<p>     “Sounds nice,” Catra smiled lightly, and the two returned to their silence.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     The drive was long but relaxing, and the lookout point view was well worth it. The lights of all the houses and buildings glinted and blinked even though it was incredibly late. The two got out of the car and hopped on top, sharing a blanket amidst the cold night.</p>
<p>     It was soothing, being able to stand above everything like that, even if for just a short time.</p>
<p>     After what felt like hours, Catra finally screwed her courage to the sticking place and exhaled, her breath coming out in a white puff of air.</p>
<p>     “Can we talk?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>all lesbians know is pining and getting in their own heads about shit</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Promises</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     Catra shifted uneasily in her spot, her hands fidgeting with the cords of her hoodie.</p>
<p>     “Everything okay?” Adora pursed her lips, a look of concern flashing across her face.</p>
<p>     “Yeah, just- wondering, i guess. About the future.”</p>
<p>     “Like, your career and stuff?” Adora tilted her head, inquisitively.</p>
<p>     “No- well, sure, yeah, I guess that’s always something to figure out, but i was talking more about… <em>our</em> future.”</p>
<p>     “Oh,” Adora exhaled, looking out over the lights, “where’s your head at?”</p>
<p>     “I guess I have the same question for you,” Catra picked at a hole in her leggings nervously, “how do <em>you</em> feel about everything?”</p>
<p>     “Neat deflection,” Adora laughed, before getting serious again. “I’m… happy, Catra. So fucking happy. Seriously.”</p>
<p>     “Yeah?” Catra smiled, comforted a bit by her joviality.</p>
<p>     “Yeah. I feel… calmer. Like you're a lighthouse and I'm a ship that was lost at sea and you're helping guide me in. I was just going through the motions before, but something was still missing in my life: direction. And then you showed up and tricked me into drinking vodka, and-yeah. Sorry for babbling.”</p>
<p>     “No, please babble all you want,” Catra was staring at the girl with a dumbfounded expression. The poeticism was shocking, and made her feel like she had melted into an emotional puddle, “I- I feel the same. I tend to fly by the seat of my pants, in case you haven’t noticed. But with you, I feel… solid. I feel like I’m home. That’s something I’ve never felt before.”</p>
<p>     Adora smiled warmly, and Catra noted the glisten in her eyes. She was sure her own were doing the same.</p>
<p>     “I love you, Adora,” she blurted out, suddenly, “I love you. And I’ve never felt like this before and I’m scared of screwing it up. Because I can’t lose you.”</p>
<p>     Adora felt like time slowed after the confession. After she took a moment to process what was said, she let out a tearful laugh.</p>
<p>     “I’m sorry. This is all new to me,” Catra rubbed her forehead, cursing herself for letting everything out so suddenly.</p>
<p>     “I'm not laughing at you, Catra, I- I love you too,” Adora wiped a tear from her eye.</p>
<p>     Catra’s head was spinning, but the vertiginous feeling was delightful, not scary. <em>Adora loved her too?</em>  She felt like she might pass out any moment.</p>
<p>     “Really?” she half whispered, still in disbelief.</p>
<p>     “Yes, stupid,” Adora snorted, trying to make light of the highly emotional situation.</p>
<p>     “Kind of a bad move on your part,” Catra joked, leaning against Adora, “I’m a lot to handle sometimes.”</p>
<p>     “I can take it. The real question is, are you able to handle all my super positive friends? And all my soccer practices… And my bad eating habits-”</p>
<p>     “I think I’m capable of dealing,” Catra smiled, leaning in for a kiss.</p>
<p>     When their lips met, the two girls seemed to forget about the chilly early morning air, as the love bubbling in their hearts warmed their whole bodies. When they separated, the sky was beginning to change colors, gradually lightening as their side of the planet tilted towards the sun.</p>
<p>     “Hey,” Adora set a hand on her shoulder, “On a serious note: we’re not perfect- and we don't have to be, okay? With you, the world isn't so scary. The future isn't some terrifying thing that I have no idea what to do with, because the present is all that matters as long as you and I are a team, okay?”</p>
<p>     Catra squeezed her hand, and though her eyes were still on the sun breaking over the over the city, Adora could see tears gathering.</p>
<p>     “We don’t have to figure everything out,” Adora continued, watching the sky grow lighter, “Let’s just… exist. And do our best. For the world and each other. The rest will fall into place.”</p>
<p>     “Promise?”</p>
<p>     “Promise.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>aaand scene. thanks for sticking around for the journey, and for all the support! seeing all your comments always put a smile on my face- especially when they were involving pizza discourse. much love</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>